Knight Quest
by Dalek Prime
Summary: Squeal to The Path of Destruction. As Mabel continues her quest to become a Jedi Knight, she must find a man named Stanly to complete her training, but can she convince him to teach her? Meanwhile,now an Inquisitor, Ren 'Dipper' Pines trains his secret apprentice Wendy in the ways of the dark side as they scheme to overthrow Vader and The Emperor and create a new Sith Order.
1. Master and Apprentice

A/N: I don't own Gravity Falls or Star Wars. Also this story takes place six months after the end of The Path of Destruction, which is set thirteen years after Revenge of the Sith and seven years before A New Hope.

Chapter One: Master and Apprentice

The nights on Tatooine were freezing cold as the days were unbearable hot. One could freeze to death out on the sea of sands as easily as they could die of heatstroke. Tatooine was no doubt a harsh, unforgiving world that rewarded that strong and savage and dammed the weak and forgiving. Here in hell of hot sands is where the heart of Jabba the Hutt's business operated without impunity of the Empire or the Rebellion to stand in the crime-lord's way. Tuskan Raiders laid siege to small outlying communities and moisture farms without fear of being stopped. This was indeed a planet that bred some of the worst scum and villainy in the galaxy.

It was here that such despots as Oslo Kreig and his band of marauders flourished. A native of the desert planet, Oslo was known as 'the sand devil' from Mos Eisley to Bestine, he ransacked moisture farms and small colonies for anything that stuck his fancy. Oslo considered himself a find man: if he found something he liked, he took it, and should someone get in his way well…he didn't mind getting messy. From, gold, credits to women, there always something the marauder wanted before moving onto something else. With his band of cutthroats, they plagued the people of Tattooine while staying away from any territory that was under the control of the Hutt.

As he and his men camped out in the endless sands of the dune sea, Oslo could almost feel an unnatural chill run up his spine—and not due the cold night's air. It was almost as if his inner primal instincts were trying to warn of an unknown threat somewhere out in the darkness. As Oslo sat near the fire, he kept one hand close to his holstered blaster in case of anything unexpected would befall him tonight.

The marauder was just about to shut his eyes when he suddenly caught a glimpse what looked like a figure making its way toward his group's camp through the moonlit covered sands. The figure in question was dressed head to toe in a black hooded cloak that was wrapped around the newcomer's body, concealing their true self under its cloth. The person kept they're head low, allowing the shadows to hide away the stranger's face as they approached the campsite.

As the figure moved closer to the marauder camp with every step, Oslo quickly roused his crew from they're slumber, ordering them to grab their weapons as he did. Soon, his band of Twi'lek's, Gammorans, Zabraks and other humans were wide awake and fully armed. They collectively aimed their weapons at the stranger who stopped just short of edge of the marauder's campsite.

"Take one more step, and we'll kill you ten times over before you hit the ground!" Oslo warned "Now take off that hood and show yourself!"

The hooded figure merely paused for a moment, as if inwardly wondering if it should comply with the order. A few seconds later, the stranger did as it was told and removed the hood, revealing their face to the bandits. The stranger was in fact a young woman that was a familiar face to the band of cutthroats.

"Well, well, look who it is boys?" Oslo said to his men "It's our old whore!"

The so-called 'whore' in question was a teenager girl known as Wendy Corduroy, and she had very painful history with Oslo's gang. Once she just the daughter of a moisture farmer and living a hard yet still peaceful life on Tattoine, But then the marauders came and destroyed her life. After murdering her farther and three brothers, Oslo and his men took the girl with them to be their personal slave whom they beat and raped for the span of two months until they finally sold her off to Jabba the Hutt to suffer the same torment they subjected her to before, only now it was day in and day out.

But Wendy's grim situation changed when she began to have strange dreams. The dreams were that of a young man who wielded great power and had a savagery in his heart that could not be tamed. The boy from her dreams reached out to Wendy and assured her that they would one day be together in real life. Soon after the boy's promise, he arrived at the Hutt's palace and liberated her from her captors after he displayed the raw fury and forced Jabba to release her to him. He revealed to her that she had the same power within her as well and offered to teach her to master it. Without giving it a second thought, Wendy agreed to become the boy's apprentice in the hopes that she would have her revenge of the galaxy that she had felt wronged her.

Shortly after taking her under his wing, her new master took her to the frigid and unforgiving planet of Mygeeto, where he began her training in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Wendy couldn't deny that the trails where beyond agonizing and left filled with a rage that surged through her blood like a red-hot poison, but through all the pain and angry she endured, the former slave girl learned to harness the power of the Force and tonight she would have her first taste of combat, and she would do so without a lightsaber.

"What? Got nothing to say to us, bitch?" Oslo continued "Well that fine by us 'cause you—"

Suddenly, Wendy threw her hand outward. Oslo was sent flying backwards by a blast of invisible energy. The other members of his gang were stunned by what they had just witnessed, but quickly opened fire with their blasters. The young girl smirked wickedly before Force-dashing out of the way of the hail of blaster fire.

Reaching out with the Force, she heaved two men into the air and slammed them together with the strength of a Rancor before tossing their bodies aside. As more blaster fire was launched at her, Wendy channeled the Force into her hands and began to block the bolts away, ricocheting the gunfire back at those who had shot at her, killing several in the process.

A Gammoran attempted to rush at her with an axe, but she ducked before Force-pulling the weapon at of the pig-man's hand and burying it in-between his eyes. Among all the panic and carnage, Wendy couldn't help but let out a laugh at the massacre she was creating. With every person she slew, the louder her laugh grew. Every bandit who had stolen any innocence and hope she had left in her was now being slaughtered by her hand and she loved every sound their dying breaths made. The dark side had given Wendy total clarity, through her rage she had gained strength and it was because of the very rage these men had forged within her that she was able to carry out her bloody vengeance.

Soon the camp became quite, the marauders were lying in broken, bloody heaps among their now ruined campsite. Wendy took in quick, sharp breaths as her anger began to settle down for the time being. She had done it; she killed them all, but yet she felt a sort of…emptiness once her rampage was over. She wanted at least some of them alive, for she wanted to subject them to new forms of pain as she gave them a slow and horrific death.

Just then, the Sith in training heard the sound of moaning not to far away. She followed the sound until she came upon Oslo's broken body writhing in pain in the sand. His rib cage was shattered from the impact of Wendy's Force-blast and judging from his haggard breathing, he didn't have much time left in this world.

"You know, I should thank you" she began in a voice devoid of sympathy "Had not been for you and all the hell you put me through, then I would've never been able to unlock my powers"

As she spoke, her hands began to flare up with electricity as look of cold satisfaction formed in her cold yellow eyes.

"But having said that, I have no intention of letting you die peacefully"

With outstretched hands and psychotic smile, the former slave girl unleashed a wave of lightning from her fingertips, jolting the source of her pain with a storm of electric Force energy that rivaled the great storms on Kamino. Oslo screamed out into skies above as his skin began to be burned away until his flesh turned to ash and he was nothing more than charred bones.

As Wendy looked down upon the burnt corpse of the scum who stole away any chance of a normal life she once had, she felt an odd sense of brief accomplishment before she started to feel the emptiness once more. Like with the other marauders she had slain, the apprentice wanted subject these marauders to even more torment before giving them granting them death. It was at that moment that the young Sith sensed the presence of powerful being behind her, whom she quickly turned and bowed before him.

The newcomer was young man dressed in a black cloak that draped over his shoulders. His body was covered in slimmer suit black and silver body armor then the one that once had wore in honor of the great Sith Lord Darth Malgus, but he had discarded it since it was only weighing his body down. He had also altered his Revan-like mask that helped him to breathe as well, changing it to a black helmet with a silver outline around the black tinted visor. His right arm had been replaced from the elbow downward with a skeletal robotic limb that had talon-like figure tips.

His name was Ren Pines, and he had dreams of creating a new Sith Order.

"You seemed troubled, my apprentice" he said to his older student in a deep synthesized voice "I thought this was what you wanted?"

"It was master, it's just…" Wendy replied as she tried to find the right words "I wanted to make them suffer much longer"

"Remember what I told you. You must move beyond these petty vendettas. You wanted to kill them, and now they're dead. That's all that matters" her teacher told her plainly "Now come along Wendy, it's time we went home"

With that, Ren turned and began to walk away from the carnage. Wendy took one last look of the hell she had rained down on the now dead marauders before catching up with her master.

* * *

To most people, Mygeeto was some place a person would not call home. The freezing cold and the rain that came down almost every day made it a dreary place to most. The snow covered mountains were rigid and slick with ice and snow, making it all but impossible to traverse for most people. Yet it was here that young Ren thrived, but also trained his apprentice in total secrecy, hiding her away from Vader and the Emperor's grasp. After becoming an Inquisitor, Ren was given everything Gideon had after killing him and taking his position, however, rather then stay in his slain enemy's penthouse in Coruscant, he opted to have all of Gideon's books, Sith records and even his Protocol Droid T9 transferred to his new home along the Mid-Rim.

It was here on Mygeeto that the former Padawan of Stanford Pines had his home private home built out in the side of one of the planet's many mountaintops. It was also on this harsh world that he began to train Wendy in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Ever since he had liberated her from Jabba's palace, Ren made it his goal to make Wendy into his desired new breed of Sith, but in order to achieve that, he had to subject her to pain and horrors that no person should go through. It was necessary for him to torture her, he needed to drive the anger out of her body and channel it through the Force. At first, she wanted to kill him for the agony he caused her, but soon she understood that her new master was only trying to teach her that the path to salvation is through life dedicated to darkness.

In time, the former slave girl started to trust her teacher and even began to relish the pain he inflicted upon her—so much that she once nearly climaxed while being blasted by his lightening. Ren once told her that the old Master/Apprentice relationship was one filled with lies and deceit between them until one slew the other, but in truth, she had no desire to overthrow her master nor did he have any wish of replacing her. The young Sith wanted to abolish the Rule of Two and reinstate a Sith Order, but unlike the Empire in the days of the Old Republic, this new Order would be one built on trust in both the dark side and each other. Gone would be the Sith's selfish desires and personal vendetta's, instead there would only be trust among one another and a united hatred that would keep the Jedi down forever and leave the galaxy under its thumb.

Wendy was totally loyal to Ren no matter what he subjected her to. No matter what he did to her both physically and mentally, she knew that he was only rebuilding her from the meek and broken girl from Tatooine into an unstoppable Sith that would gladly kill in his name, for her young master was the only person in the entire galaxy that showed her any kindness and wanted to see her become greater then she once was. It was thanks to his brutal training sessions that she her powers had grown to new heights in these past six months and her slaughter on Tattoine proved that she was excelling in mastery over the Force, and though she did not have a lightsaber yet, she knew it would only be a matter of time until that part of her training would come.

Currently, the boy once known as Dipper was lying in his circle-shaped bed within the darkly lit confines of his oval shaped room. Gone were his helmet and the rest of his clothing, only a silver triangle-shaped respirator was on his face, allowing him to breathe normally at night. He was looking up at the darkly lit ceiling with a coldly focused gaze in his eyes, as if he was trying to look past the ceiling above him and into the vastness of space itself. Even though he stated that his new Order would not be weighed down with personal quests of revenge, his mind couldn't stop thinking about the one person who betrayed him and left him for dead on in that canyon back on the forest moon of Endor. The one whom he swore he would have retribution on one day no matter how long he had to wait to fulfill it: his sister, Mabel.

Ever since their battle on the moon six months ago that left him damaged, Ren had gone back in secret several times before to find her and end her, but all he could find was wildlife and Ewoks that would fall to his red blade. At first he assumed that she was hiding in the deepest parts of the forest moon, but now he had a working theory that somehow she must have escaped the moon and was no hiding among the stars. He had such wild and fantastic dreams of strangling the life out of his twin sibling with his bare hands, but he had to resist his urge for vengeance, for it was against everything he stood for. So for now, he would focus on building his Knighthood, and then when the time was right, he would track down Mabel and kill her as slowly as possible.

"It seems something is troubling _**you**_ , my master" Wendy's cooed seductively as she rolled over on her side of the bed to face Ren "Something on your mind?"

In their time together, Ren and Wendy started out as master and apprentice, but during the former slave's training, they slowly became something else. Over time, the two began to see one another in a different light, looking beyond they're intended roles and seeing each other as lovers. Love was not looked down upon among the Sith in the past—in fact, even the mighty Darth Malgus cared deeply for his Twi'lek concubine Eleena. Soon, they two became young lovers, each devoted to the other and to no one else. But despite the new found love they shared, this did not soften the horrors Ren would subject Wendy to, saying that if he treated her different during her time training, then her powers would wan as an effect. Through her love for him, the teenager found new strength to continue on in some of the most horrid conditions he put her through.

"It's nothing" her teacher replied firmly in a metallic tone through his respirator

"Well, perhaps I can take your mind off of that nothing that seems to be bothering you" Wendy whispered in his ear as her hand ran down his chest

The former Padawan let out a small groan escape his respirator as his student's hand under the satin sheets and down toward his lower regions. In response to her move, Ren began to trace his metallic hand down her bare chest and down toward her lower parts as well, making her moan as his touch. Wendy reached out with her other hand and gently removed her master's respirator from his mouth, giving her to seal his lips with her own. Her tongue slipped into his mouth as she climbed on top of her master and straddled him. He reached up and took a firm hold on her hips, ready to take as her did on this bed like he had months ago.

"Master Pines" came a robotic voice as T9 entered the bedroom announced "You have a in coming transmission"

Ren and Wendy broke the kissed to glare daggers at the droid. The robot was good at many things, but knocking wasn't one of them.

"Tell whoever it is to wait" his master ordered "I'm…busy"

"But sir, it's on your private line" T9 affirmed

Ren and his apprentice's eyes widen in surprise upon hearing that. There was only one person who used the young Sith's private line.

"Vader…" Ren said in an amazed whisper

He looked back up at Wendy, who already knew what he was going to do next. As much as she wanted to make love to her young teacher, the older girl knew that he had to keep up the ruse of loyalty to Darth Vader and the other Inquisitors.

"To be continued then" she sighed in defeat before she climbed off him

Ren put his respirator back on before climbing out of bed and quickly putting on his pants. He then headed out of the bedroom and made his way into another room where he kept to Holo-player. Ren had to keep up his appearances as a dedicated Inquisitor to the Empire, but ever since he was made one, the young Sith had not been given any assignments to hunt down any leads of a surviving Jedi. There was a part of him that was hoping that Vader had found whereabouts of his twin sister, but that may be for the better that he didn't, since he lied to the dark lord that his sister had died on Endor's Moon.

After activating the Holo-player, Ren was surprised not to see the visage of Vader, but of a different being all together. This being sat in a massive stone throne and was dressed in a dark robe that had a hood covering his face. At first glance, Ren thought that this was Palpatine, but he quickly sensed that this was someone new entirely.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ren Pines" the giant figure greeted in a deep yet ancient tone

"Who are you?" the Inquisitor demanded "And how do you know me?!"

"I have been watching you, my boy" the stranger explained "I have sensed your deep connection to the dark side and I wish to form an alliance with you"

"I don't make deals with those I don't know" Ren answered sharply "I don't know how you managed to find my secure network, but this conversation is over!"

"You seek to rebuild the Sith" the giant figure said "It is a passion we both share"

"How do you know—"the young Sith started but cut himself off "If this is some kind of test from Vader I assure you that you'll regret it!"

"I do not serve the Empire" the cloaked giant replied "I am like you Ren. I seek to tear down the Sith and rebuild it into something greater then any power in the galaxy"

Ren paused, clearly taken aback by stranger's words. He kept his plans for overthrowing Vader and Palpatine a secret to only a very select few, how did this creature know of his plans? Was this some test by Vader to see where his loyalties lied, but then how did Vader discover his schemes to begin with?

"I can see you do not trust me, so I shall show you a token my friendship" the figure continued

The hologram of the stranger suddenly switched to a massive map of the galaxy. It then zoomed in on a planet and displayed the coordinates to the mysterious world, making the former Jedi's eyes widen in total shock when he figured out what he was being shown. After several seconds of taking in the image of planet and the coordinates, the newcomer's image switched back on.

"Do you know this world?" the stranger asked

"Yes…" Ren answered, stunned by what he had seen "But how—"

"Meet me there" the stranger interrupted "Once you arrive, we shall talk further"

Ren still had his doubts over the stranger's offer, but upon seeing the image of something he thought we would never lay eyes on, he had to at least see it for himself if nothing else.

"Who are you?" the young Sith questioned finally

The giant slowly removed his hood to reveal a pale badly scarred face that looked down at him with deep cold black eyes. Ren began to truly sense the giant's power and his interest grew even greater.

"My name…is Snoke"


	2. The Lost Padawan

Chapter Two: The Lost Padawan

Mabel jolted upwards in her small bed, screaming in horror as she did. Beads of cold sweat ran down her face as she gasped for breath and whole body was trembling. It was another nightmare about **_him_** , just like almost every other night for the past six months. Ever since her tragic battle on the forest moon of Endor, the now master-less Padawan had been traveling with a band of bounty hunters in order to find her way to Bespin so that she may find a new teacher in the ways of the Force. But in that time, she had been haunted by dreams of the person she was forced to kill so that his evil could not spread throughout the galaxy: her own brother, Ren.

Even though it was months ago, the death of her twin sibling at her hands was still fresh in her mind every time she closed her eyes. It was not only the memory of her deed that haunted her, but also the dreams she had. Every night Mabel dreamed of Ren trying to turn her to the dark side like he he had attempted back on the moon, mocking her belief in the light side of the Force as he did.

"Your dead..." the young Jedi whispered somberly to herself as she buried her face in her hands "why can't you just leave me alone?"

Mabel then turned her gaze over to her-or better put-her brother's lightsaber that was laying on a small shelf next to her bed. After their final battle, Mabel was left with his weapon, which at the time she wanted to keep as a memento of all they good times between them before Dipper turned to the dark side, but after months of being plagued by nightmare after nightmare, she was beginning to wonder if this lightsaber was the source of her grief. Could her brother be haunting her from the grave through this weapon? or was was the young Jedi simply going mad?

Before her mind could race with anymore wild ideas, there was a sharp knock at her door. Before Mabel could grant the person entrance to her room, the visitor let herself into the room/storage closet. the visitor in question was a bounty hunter and the captain of the ship Mabel was currently staying on by the name of Pacifica Northwest, and judging by her usual annoyed expression, she wasn't here for a friendly chat.

"You wanna stop the whole screaming thing?" she said to the Padawan in a harsh tone "Some of us are trying to sleep off a hangover!"

In the six months since Pacifica rescued Mabel from certain death and promised to take her to Bespin, the two girls had a certain...disliking toward one another. granted, they didn't outright hate one another, but still they had some major issues between them that seemed to get in the way of ever becoming true friends. like most bounty, Pacifica was more concerned with credits then collateral damage, which Mabel was not a fan of, thinking that the blonde was to reckless at times and thought with her blaster more then her brain. Despite her misgivings toward the young girl, Mabel could sense the good in her-even if it was buried deep within a foul-mouthed, bad tempered alcoholic who shot first and asked question almost never.

Even though Pacifica swore that she would eventuality take the young Jedi to Cloud City after she collected enough credits to counter-balance the ones she would've gotten had she sold out Mabel; there where times where the young bounty hunter thought about just dumping her off at the next spaceport and let her fend for herself. The Jedi would get on the young girl's nerves with her constant need to tell the bounty hunter that her methods of capturing her targets were to aggressive-she was a bounty hunter for crying out loud! aggression was part of the job description!

However, Mabel struck Pacifica as a gentle soul who despite habits was a tolerable guest aboard her ship The Everfree. She was a kind soul who had an aura of tragic loneliness about her, but she did not let that weigh her down in the slightest. Not to mention she was rather cute to the young bounty hunter.

"Sorry..." Mabel breathed out, still shaken up from her nightmare

"You seriously need to see a shrink or something" the blonde reasoned "Why not try meditating, isn't that how you Jedi clear your thoughts and junk?"

"I have, multiple times even" the Padawan replied "But no matter how long I meditate, the nightmares still come"

"Well your lack of sleep is starting to keep us from sleeping as well" the bounty hunter informed her "So try to get your shit together"

Just then, Candi's voice cam through the ship's COMM-link.

"Boss, we've just reached Kispaugh Spaceport. We're ready to land on your go ahead"

"Another bounty, I see?" Mabel mused "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because you didn't need to know-like always" Pacifica pointed a tad to harshly "You may be a Jedi, but your not a member of this crew"

"And trust me, I don't want to be!" the young Jedi answered sharply "The sooner you take me to Cloud City the better!"

"Oh trust me 'your Jediness' I can't wait for that day to come!" the blonde bounty hunter shot back before turning her attention to the ship's COMM "I'll be right there"

Without another word, Mabel shut the door to her room/supply closet in annoyance. Pacifica let out a frustrated sigh, not at Mabel, but at herself. Once again she had successfully managed to aggravate the Padawan she was trying to help. She couldn't help it-it was like a part of her brain was always telling her 'be a jerk to the Jedi for no reason'. She secretly admired the Jedi's selflessness and found the young girl attractive, but her abrasive attitude kept her from getting to close to anyone in a romantic way-let alone a Jedi. Besides, from what she knew of the ways of the Jedi, they weren't allowed to form relationships anyway, so why should she even bother to get her hopes up?

* * *

Kispaugh Spaceport was located deep inside the the Nelvana Gas Cluster. It was a hub for smuggling and skulduggery that attracted criminals and villains of all to types and the kind of nefarious activity that comes along with open arms. It was at this hotbed of crime that the young crew of The Everfree had come to in order to find their next target.

The bounty in question was a Gran by the name of Udo Blisk, an accountant for The Pikes who made the not so bright decision to steal a rather large some of credits and make a run of it to the Outer-Rim. His last known location was a reported to be this very spaceport, and it just so happened that Pacifica and her gang were the closest ones to that sector and instantly made a B-Line for the spaceport the second they heard the news of his bounty.

Once they had docked, the bounty hunters and the Jedi stepped off of the ship and into the den of thieves and cutthroats. Mabel no longer wore her traditional robes and tunic out of fear of being detected by The Empire, instead she now wore a brown leather flight jacket with a white undershirt. She also wore a tan jeans and pair of brown boots. She kept her lightsaber tucked away in the inside pocket of her jacket. While in the company of the bounty hunters, she hadn't needed to use her blade, she brought it along with her wherever she went in the event she might be forced to defend herself.

"Alright girls, you know the drill" Pacifica said to the group "Candi and Greta, you come with me to find this little bantha turd and Mabel you-"

"Stay in the cantina until you come back, I know" the Padawan answered

While Mabel traveled with the trio of female bounty hunters, she did not join them when they were working-even though she was asked by Candi and Greta several times. The Jedi in training didn't like the idea of using her gifts to make out a profit, so instead she opted to merely stay in the nearest cantina until the other girls were finished with their job.

"We won't be long, Mabel" Candi offered "This will probably turn out to be one big wild bantha chase"

"Better not be" Greta mentioned "We need those credits for some decent food-I'm sick of eating noodles!"

"Well in any case, good luck" Mabel replied with a smile

Unlike her rocky friendship with Pacifica, Mabel had bounded well with the Twi'lek and Torgruta. the two aliens were very cheery and often hung out with the young Jedi when they weren't out working to hunt down some unlucky soul. Aside from the Ewoks she had grown up with, Mabel never really had a lot of friends and Candi and Greta were very welcoming toward her.

"Alright, time is money ladies, let's go!" the blonde commanded her two alien friends

With that, the trio of bounty hunters went off to track down Blisk while Mabel headed off to nearest cantina, which wasn't that hard to find considering that most cantina's weren't to far away from the shipyards. Sure enough, there was one not even twenty yards away from the dock where they had landed.

The second Mabel stepped into cantina, her senses where instantly hit with all the sights, sounds and even smells of the bar. as per usual with most cantinas, it was place where smugglers, criminals and other less the generous beings from all walks of life came together to discuss new business opportunities, looking for work or trading stories about their travels across the stars. As per usual, whenever she stepped into one of these bars, she would be met by curious eyes who wondered why a girl so young was just strolling into a place like without a hint of fear on her face.

In truth though, Mabel did have some hint of nervousness in the back of her mind, not toward the thought of being attack and killed by some random drunk thug, but at the thought of being discovered by an agent of The Empire like the Inquisitor known as Gideon back on Endor's moon. The thought of encountering another Inquisitor made her shiver; they were steadfast worshipers of the dark side and loyal hunting dogs to Vader and The Emperor.

As Mabel sat at the bar table, she asked the bartender for just a glass of water and waited for proceed to wait for Pacifica and the others to return. As she did, the master-less Padawan was approached by drunk Dug who judging by his sly smile had a very dirty thought running through his mind.

"Hey lil'girl" he slurred "How 'bout you and me get out of here and I can show you a good time"

"You don't want to show me a good time" Mabel said, waving her hand slightly as she did

"I don't want to show you a good time" the Dug repeated in a monotone voice

"You want to go to the authorities and tell them you just tried to pick up a minor"

"I want to go to the authorities and tell them I just tried to pick up a minor"

As instructed to do, the Dug turned and left the bar in almost a zombie-like state. During her six months traveling the galaxy, Mabel had been continuing her training in the ways of the Force so that when she finally found Master Stanly she would have at least something to show that she could be a worthy student. It was also a way of honoring her fallen teacher and great-uncle Stanford, who fell at the blade of Darth Vader. As much as the Padawan knew that he was now one with the Force, she still couldn't help a dealt deal of sadness well up inside her whenever she remembered all the cherished memories she shared with him, her brother and all of her Ewok friends on the forest moon.

So whenever the bounty hunters stopped off at local spaceport on some planet, Mabel would make her way toward the nearest cantina and begin to train herself on one of the most difficult ability's in the Jedi long list of talents: a mind trick. At first her efforts where met with less then desired results-what if those she was trying to mind trick getting angry or confused by her words, but in time she learned to reach into a person's mind and give into her orders. However, this was a power she did not take lightly, for to wield this ability meant that one had to keep themselves from using the power to control others for their own gain.

Suddenly, she felt a slight shift in the Force around her. At first she feared that an Inquisitor had manage to detect her mind trick, but then she felt that the new presence was not strong in the dark side yet it was not very strong in the light either. Mabel had to be cautious as to how to go about this new presence. For despite sensing not a large amount of the dark side, that didn't mean this newcomer was a true Jedi either. First, she had to locate the source of this energy before doing anything else.

Opening herself up to the Force just enough to seek out the other being in the catina, Mabel began to to feel about the bar and started to hone in on the other Force-sensitive being. soon enough, she discovered the person she had sensed. Sitting at a table on the far end of the bar drinking a glass of Rhodian ale was a man in his early twenties with a brown beard and short-cut hair. He wore a white long-sleeve shirt that had brown leather shoulder pieces to them, black pants and shoes.

Just then, the man in question suddenly snapped his head to the side and directly locked eyes with Mabel, making it silently clear that he had sensed. Mabel nearly jumped out of her seat at the bar at the sudden reaction, fearing that she may have just given herself away to an enemy. But much to her surprise, the man gave her a small nod and beckoned her over to his table with a gesture of his hand.

At first, Mabel was still uneasy about all this, apart of her felt that she was walking into a trap, but on the other hand, the Padawan could sense no hostiles energy coming from the man, only a more curious feeling around him. So against her better judgment, the young Jedi got up from her seat and made her way over to him. Once she reached him, she sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"Well this is certainly a surprise" the man said "I never thought I'd find a Padawan in this day and and age"

"If your even thinking about turning me over to the Empire-" Mabel attempted to threaten

"Relax, I'm not going to do anything that involves The Empire" the fellow Force user assured her "I've left that all behind me-so to speak"

from just his words alone, Mabel could sense the honesty within them. Whoever this man was, he was no friend to The Empire, but that didn't necessarily mean he was friend to the Jedi in training.

"Ok, so your not an Inquisitor" the Padawan surmised "so are you a Jedi or what?"

"I'd like to think 'or what' might sum me up better" the man answered "The better question is: who are you and how did you find get all the way out here?"

"My name is Mabel" the young Jedi informed him "And as to how I got here...its a long story"

"Then give me the abridged version" he said

"Why should I even tell you?" Mabel countered "For all I know, you might just rat me out just to get some credits!"

The man let out a small laugh at that remark.

"No need to get edgy, kid" the man told her "I'm not the type of guy"

Again, his words held truth with every word he spoke. So with a calming sigh, the Padawan told her story.

"I've been traveling with some bounty hunters who swore to take me to Bespin" Mabel finally explained "I'm supposed to met a man named Stanly there so that he'll complete my training to become a full Jedi"

"Don't you have a family?" the stranger asked "What about them?"

"My great-uncle and my brother were my only family" Mabel replied somberly "Until Vader came..."

The man's face softened in understanding, he knew what she had meant by that.

"I'm sorry..." he offered "I know what it's like to lose you care about to The Empire"

"I don't even know what I'm doing anymore" Mabel continued in a dejected tone "What if this Stanly guy isn't on Bespin anymore? what if I'm just looking for a ghost?"

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it, kid" the man said "You'll find this 'Stanly' guy, you just gotta stay focused"

"But what if I do find him and he doesn't want to teach me?" the Padawan argued

"Then you make him train you" the stranger reasoned "Show him that you've the stones to to be a Jedi"

"But even _I_ don't know if I have what it takes to be a Jedi yet" Mabel pointed out I couldn't save my great-uncle or my brother, so how could I possibly save the whole galaxy?"

It was that that an idea sparked in the young girl's head. Maybe she didn't have to go looking for Stanly after all, maybe the Force brought Mabel to this man for a reason.

"Maybe you can train me" she offered "I can feel that the Force is strong with you, and you seem like a good person"

The man leaned back in his seat and looked away with an almost shamed look on his face.

"Listen kid, I'd love to help you out, but I'm no Jedi Master" he began "There's stuff about the Force I'm still trying to learn about, and I'm dealing with a lot of problems of my own right now. I'm sorry, but I can't teach you"

Mabel looked down at the table with sadness in her eyes. Then she felt a hand gently take hold of her shoulder, she looked back up to see that stranger giving her a warm smile.

"Don't lose hope, kid" he assured her "Like I said, when you find this guy, you show him your Jedi material and the next thing you know, you'll be a full-fledged Jedi in no time"

"Thank you..." the Padawan said with a smile of her own

Just then, the the Jedi's three friends came into the bar, dragging along a beaten up Gran in tow-obviously the one they were looking for.

"Your friends?" the man asked

"Yep" Mabel answered plainly

"Hey Mabel come on let's go!" Pacifica called out

"Well that's my cue" the young Jedi said as she got up from her seat "It was nice meeting you-uh I didn't get your name"

"It's Kyle" the man informed her with an outstretched hand "Kyle Katarn"

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Kyle" the Padawan told him as she shook his hand "I hope we meet again"

"Likewise, Mabel" he responded with a grin

With that, Mabel quickly hurried after her friends before they left the cantina.

* * *

After Pacifica turned Udo over to an enforcer for The Pikes and getting their lump sum of fifteen hundred credits, The team celebrated by heading to Ithor getting a large amount of the one thing they most desperately needed: food. While Candi and Greta were busy grocery shopping, Mabel was in her room meditating when she heard the sound of a light knocking at her door. She got up from her meditating position and opened the door to see a very calm looking Pacifica.

"Hey listen Mabel..." she began to say "I now you and me haven't seen eye to eye lately"

"You mean ever?" Mabel corrected

"Yeah I know" the bounty hunter "But listen, Ithor isn't to far away from Bespin and after that cash we got for bagging Udo..."

"Wait..." the Padawan surmised as "Are you saying what I think your saying?"

"Yep" the blonde answered "I'm taking you to Cloud City"

Mabel's response came in the form of a huge, bright smile and a tight hug around the bounty hunter's person, making Pacifica blush uncontrollably in the process.

"Alright, alright cut it out!" she commanded as she push the girl off of her "Don't get all mushy on me!"

"Thank you Pacifica!" the Jedi in training said happily

"Yeah well...you've been freeloading off of me for two long!" Pacifica attempted to lie

"Well in any case, I can't thank you enough" the Padawan furthered "I know we had our differences, but I'd like to think of you as a friend"

"Uh, what?" the blonde asked, dumbstruck

"I know you can be a bit...abrasive, but I've always known you were a good person" the Jedi in training said to her "And considering that I don't have a lot of friends left in the galaxy, it's nice to know I can still count on some people-even if they take six months to keep their word"

Pacifica stifled down another blush before speaking.

"Hey I swore I'd take you to Bespin, so I'm taking you to Bespin" she finally replied "Just don't hug me again"

"I'm try to keep that in mind" Mabel offered with a smile

Mabel then shut her door, however, it did little to hide the sequel of joy she let out once it was closed. Pacifica couldn't help but smile at the girl's happiness, she was going to keep her oath, but on the other hand, she felt almost saddened at the thought of no longer having Mabel on board the ship. Even though her Jedi codes got on the bounty hunter's nerves at times, she still felt some attraction toward the girl.

" _Aw crap, I'm feeling all touchy-feely again_ " she thought to herself " _Better do what I do best: get drunk and try to forget what feelings are"_

Meanwhile inside her room, Mabel was more then excited by the news she had just heard. She was finally going to find her new master. Granted, she was still nervous by the thought of either Stanly gone or not accepting her, but she had to overcome her doubts and focus on becoming a Jedi Knight like grunkle Ford wanted her to become. And if this Stanly guy wouldn't take her as his student, she would take Kyle's advice and show her new mentor that she had all the makings of a true Jedi not matter how hard she had to prove it to him.


	3. Into Darkness

Chapter Three: Into Darkness

"I should be going with you, master" Wendy said as she watched him pack his gear

In the following days after Ren had spoken with the mysterious figure known only as Snoke, he was inwardly battling with himself on weather or not he should meet with him in person. It was a risky gambit, on one hand, Snoke could be telling the truth and he could help Ren and Wendy accomplish their goal of creating their new order. However, there was a chance this could all be some ruse to entrap the young Inquisitor-or worse, be some sort elaborate game by Vader to test his loyalty to the Empire.

But those coordinates Snoke showed him...

The location to _that_ world was know to only a handful in this day and age in the galaxy. It was far to tempting to just to go that world trap or not just to lays eyes on it and set foot on it's soil at least once. It still troubled Ren that this may all be some elaborate scheme by Vader and Palpatine to show his true nature, and he needed to stay alive. Not just so that he could fulfill is destiny of a new Sith Order, but he also had to consider his apprentice's safety as well, for if he fell, it would rest with her to carry out his mission in his place. More then that though, he cared for Wendy deeply and couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

Then there was the matter if Snoke was telling the truth. The young Sith needed a powerful allies against The Emperor and his attack dog for sure , but what could Snoke offer him other then the location to that planet? Ren could sense even through the holo-vid that Snoke had some strength in the dark side, but would it be enough to help Ren in his future battle against someone as powerful as Vader and Palpatine? he couldn't be for sure right away.

For days Ren sat in his in his mediation chamber, contemplating both the pros and cons of his predicament. Wendy, while worried that her master/lover as doing more damage to himself by being locked away within the chamber, continued on with her training in the dark side as her young teacher would've wanted. Currently, she was dressed in her regular training attire, which was a black sleeveless shirt with a pair of black jeans, gloves and combat boots.

Finally, on the sixth day, Ren emerged from the chamber. He then proceed to tell his apprentice that he was departing to somewhere she was not yet ready to follow him yet. Try as she might, he refused to tell her as to where and why he leaving her behind, only telling the teen that it could bring them one step closer to their goal of ruling the galaxy. The argument went on from the time when Ren exited the chamber to now whey where in the bedroom as the young Inquisitor prepared for his journey.

"You and I may be lovers Wendy, but your still my apprentice" Ren told her through his helmet as he continued to pack his things "and as my apprentice, you are to do as exactly as I say"

"But master I'm ready!" she argued "I'm a Sith like you!"

"No, your not" he answered "You think just because you killed some marauders that your ready to face our true enemies? you've only been my student for six months and you don't even have a lightsaber yet. You are far from ready"

Ren's words cut the teenager deeper then any blade could. In her time training under, Wendy was subjected to many insults and beatings at the hand of her master, but as stated before, the psychical and mental pain she suffered made her connection to the dark side even greater with every hit and demeaning remark.

However, Ren was not without his kindness, when they were not busy molding the teenager into a deadly warrior, Ren treated her with a kind of love and kindness toward her that no poet in the entire galaxy could even dare to all the rage and the savagery was a young boy who cared deeply for a broken girl and wanted to see her rise to become a mighty Sith that could challenge even the strongest of Jedi.

"Which is why I'm sending you on a training assignment" Ren suddenly added on

Wendy's eyes widen in surprise upon hearing that. She didn't think that Ren would be willing to let her leave their home on Mygeeto without him since he had to keep her a secret from the rest of The Empire.

"I'm sending you to a planet in the Outer-Rim called Dathomir" her master explained "It is a world that once home to the now extinct Night Sisters and is strong with the dark side. I want you study their ancient ruins of the as well learn to survive on your own"

"How long am I to stay there?" Wendy asked

"For as long as I see fit" the Inquisitor answered bluntly "This is a test of your strength and endurance. You will have only have the skills I taught you so far to rely on while on the planet"

Wendy began to feel a tinge of apprehension crawl her spine. Was she truly capable of staying alone on a planet for a long period of time? How long did he intend to leave her there anyway? her master could easily leave her to fend herself for years before decided to come back for her. That was her biggest fear at the heart of all: she was afraid of being alone again. Ren gave her more then just a chance to unlock the powers within her, but also a companion who despite his violent tendencies cared for well-being.

"I wouldn't send you on this assignment if I didn't think you weren't up for it" he went on in more gentle tone, as if he sensed her fears "I have the utmost confidence in you, Wendy"

He then gently took her hand in his robotic one, letting her know that he was not doing this out of malice, but out of love. It was in that that moment that beat down her doubts and had to mentally prepare herself for what as to come. Wendy's master then reached up to his helmet and removed it, allowing his yellow eyes to meet with her own.

"Remember that the dark side is always with you" he assured her "As is my love"

Ren proceeded to pull the older girl down to his level and kiss her deeply. Not a forceful, lustful kiss that they shared so many times before, but a deep and passionate one. She moaned into the kiss as she returned his passion in kind. After nearly a full minute, they broke the kiss with a string of their shared saliva connecting to their lips as they pulled away.

"So when do I leave?" Wendy questioned, coming down from the high of the kiss

"Right now" Ren replied in a stern tone

It was all to late that Wendy sensed the presence of four other beings in their bedroom. Before she could even turn and face them, she was struck in the back by a stun beam from a blaster, knocking her out cold before she even hit the ground. Ren managed to catch his apprentice before she fell the the floor.

Ren then looked over to his Imperial Commandos as they entered the room. He had summoned them to Mygeeto from Coruscant earlier in the day; telling them that he had a special task for them. Tambry, Lee, Nate and Thompson where the only people to know of their leader's apprentice and they feared Ren's wrath to tell anyone else of her existence. The memories of what they young Inquisitor did to Robbie months ago to prove his dominance was still fresh in their heads.

"You could've warned her about that, sir" Thompson said as Tambry lowered her EC-11 blaster after firing her shot "Isn't she going to be mad?"

"That's the point, you idiot" his leader sneered "rage is a Sith's most powerful tool, and where she's going, her rage might just save her life"

There was more to Wendy's training then Ren was letting on. True she needed to put her skills to the test against the elements, but he needed to Wendy as far away from Mygeeto as possible while he was away meeting with Snoke. While he had reported to the Grand Inquisitor that he was following a loose lead of a supposed Jedi sighting on Raxus Prime, he knew that if Vader or the other Inquisitors came to his home for a 'surprise inspection' while he was away and found her there, they would kill the teenager in a heartbeat, and while she was a gifted Sith, she was still nowhere near the level as some of the dark side user in the Empire were.

Ren didn't know how long he would be gone-or if he'd be going back at all for that matter, but so long as Wendy was safe then his legacy would be carried on through her. He took in her unconsciousness form as he brushed away a few red hairs away from her beautiful face. A part of him hated himself for doing this to her, but for the good of the Sith and for Wendy's own safety, he had keep her away from the possible trap he was walking into.

"I love you, I hope you know that..." he whispered in her ear before gently kissing her forehead

* * *

Wendy awoke to the sound of ship engines taking off. The apprentice's eyes snapped open to the sight of dark red soil and mist. She found herself laying on the dirt of the some alien world instead the floor of her home on Mygeeto. The teenager pulled herself off of the ground, still in a haze from the surprise stun blast she took. She looked up the sky to see a faint glimpse of an Imperial ship flying off into the skies above.

At first, Wendy felt a surge of rage at the fact her master had just dumped on this planet by means of deceit, but then she remembered that a Sith's best weapon was her anger and understood what he was trying to do for her. Though that still didn't fully justify his actions, but she was going to survive on this once Sith ruled world, she was going to need all the anger she could feel.

She had read a bit about Dathomir from the books that Ren kept. As her teacher had told her, it was once a planet that was ruled by the Night Sisters; a powerful clan of witches who practiced ancient Sith Sorcery. Some of the most notable members of their sisterhood was their leader Mother Talzin and Count Dooku's apprentice, Asajj Ventress. It was also home to the Night Brothers; a group of specially trained Zabrak's that where breed and trained by the Night Sisters to suit whatever the witches needed of them. The two most notorious Night Brothers were of course the great Sith-Warrior Darth Maul and his sibling, Savage Oppress.

Unfortunately during the final months of the Clone Wars, a droid army lead by General Grievous himself invaded the planet and all but wiped out the Night Sisters in a brutal massacre. The Night Brothers were also supposedly slaughtered during the attack as well, though some reports did say that few did survive and made it off world, but those may have been just rumors and nothing more. This planet was devoid of it's once great people with only the the ruins of the Night Sisters temple was all that stood as a marker of their existence.

So why did she feel like she was being watched?

Shaking off the feeling and chalking it up to her fears creeping into her mind again, Wendy made her way into the dead woods in attempt to find some form of shelter for the night and some food. However, not to far from her stood a tall figure who stood in the shadows of the trees as she watched the young girl walk into the rotted forest with interest in her eyes.

"So, you've come at last..." the figure whispered to herself "Now we can begin..."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter guys, but I hope you all enjoyed regardless**


	4. Cloud City

Chapter Four: Cloud City

As The Everfree came out of Hyperspace, Mabel felt a mixture of excitement and apprehension rise within her. This was it. Today was the day that she would finally meet the man who would help her to become a Jedi Knight, or at least that's what she hoped. A part of her still worried that whoever this Stan fellow was that he would refute her as his student-or worse, not even be on the planet anymore. But the young Padawan remembered what Kyle had told her, and she fought back her fears.

In the confines of her small room, Mabel looked back herself through the reflection of a small mirror that hung in the corner of the room. Back on Endor's moon, she would sometimes spend nearly an hour nearly getting her hair right before even training alongside Ren and Master Ford. It was an attachment, and the Jedi code clearly stated that attachments were not allowed, and if she wanted to make a good impression on her possible new master, she needed to show him that she was willing to do anything to learn what it meant to be a Jedi.

So with that in mind, she took a large chunk of her hair in one hand and ignited her lightsaber with the other.

* * *

Well this was it, Pacifica was finally going to be rid of the little tag-along who had been pestering her about bringing her to Bespin. But one major thing kept rattling around in her head: if she was so glad that she'd be done with the young Jedi, then why did a part of the bounty hunter feel sad by the idea of leaving Mabel behind?

Mabel was kind, caring and incredibly attractive in Pacifica's eyes, she had all the makings of a true Jedi within her. The blonde bounty hunter was never the one for handling her feelings well-in fact her sexual relations with Candi and Greta were more to blow off steam then anything else. But with Mabel she felt something much different toward her, like something beyond that of just wanting to get in bed with her.

So after nearly six hours of staying in her room while trying to think of something to say to ease the tension between them, Pacifica then found herself standing outside the Padawan's room, trying to mentally prep herself to knock on the door in order to speak with the girl with whom she felt conflicting emotions toward.

Just as she was about to knock on the door when suddenly it opened on its own. As Mabel stepped out of her room, the blonde bounty hunter instantly noticed the change the young Jedi had taken. Her think, long brown hair had been cut down to her the length of her neck instead of being all the way down the length of her body.

"Uh...wow" Pacifica began as she hid her blush "That's a good look for you"

"Thanks" Mabel replied with a smile "So have we arrived on the planet yet?"

"Not yet, we're still in orbit" the blonde answered "But we'll be going down there soon. I just came up here to tell you that-and nothing else-yep, absolutely nothing else whatsoever!"

"Uh...ok" Mabel said, obliviously confused by the other girl's words "Just let me know when we're ready to go down to the planet"

"Yep, I'll do that" the captain of The Everfree responded as she tried to keep a straight face

With that, Mabel went back into her room, leaving Pacifica to inwardly curse herself.

"S _mooth, Pacifica, real_ _smooth_ " she thought to herself as she facepalmed " _Why do I even bother?_ "

While she was busy self a heap of self-loathing, both Greta came up to her with a look of worry on her face.

"Uh boss, your gonna wanna take a look at this" the Togruta informed her

"Oh what now?" the human bounty hunter groaned

Rather then tell her right away, Greta instead motioned for her leader to follow her to the ship's cockpit. Once they arrived, Candi was already piloting the ship as they remained in Bespin's orbit. Candi also had a look of concern on her face, and it wasn't to long until she saw what was making her alien friends feel worried. There in orbit over the planet was a Star Destroyer.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me!" Pacifica shouted in disbelief

"Someone should better tell Mabel" Candi mentioned

Just as she had said that, the Jedi in training had stepped into the ship's cockpit.

"Someone should tell Mabel-whaaaaaaa!" she shrieked in horror at the sight of the Star Destroyer

"What the hell is The Empire even doing here?" Greta questioned "I thought they never came out to this system"

"Maybe they discovered that Stanly guy Mabel was looking for" Candi reasoned sadly

Mabel's heart sank when she heard that ever possible theory. The Empire would come all the way out here in force like this unless they discovered some sort of disturbance that required they're direct attention, and that was usually one of two things: either they were engaging a Rebel cell or hunting a Jedi. Could it really be to late? had she lost her possibly last chance to become a true Jedi?

Mabel's melancholy expression did not go unnoticed by the blonde bounty hunter. Pacifica wanted to say something to at least try brighten up the girl of her attraction. She tentatively reached out with her hand gently placed it on the Padawan's shoulder as a sigh of comfort.

"Hey come Mabel, we don't know what's going on down there" She assured her "Stanly could still be down there and hiding away from the Empire"

"I hope your right, Pacifica" Mabel replied in a somber voice "I hope your right..."

Suddenly, the bounty hunter's ships radio crackled to life, projecting a strong male voice from it.

"Attention unidentified ship! This is the I.M.P.S Absolution-you will identify yourselves at once or we will open fire!" the voice commanded

At first, the group of girls nearly went into full-on panic mode, but then Pacifica raised her hand to quiet them down before activating her end of the radio.

"I.M.P.S Absolution, this is The Everfree, we're bounty hunters here on official business" she informed the crewman on the Star Destroyer

"What are you doing?!" Candi demanded in a panicked whisper

"Just trust me on this, ok?" her leader whispered back before getting back to the radio "Are you gonna be keeping us long? because there's a hot bounty down there I sure as well don't want it to slip away"

There was silence on the other end of the radio few several minutes, making the other three girls begin to feel as though the Star Destroyer was going to call their bluff and blast them out of the sky any given second.

"There not buying it" Greta mentioned in an unsure tone

"Just be cool and we'll get through this" Paifica told her "Just act normal"

"How do we do that?" the Twi'lek added on

"I don't know, fly casual" the former heiress offered

After several more minutes of waiting with anticipation to see if they'd be allowed into land or be blown to bits, they finally received a response.

"Confirmed Everfree, you have clearance to land. Do not deviate from your current course" the crewman's voice ordered before cutting off the transmission

the group of girls let out a collective sigh in relief upon hearing that.

"So how did you know that would work?" Mabel asked the blonde bounty hunter

"Even though we're not really liked, The Empire usually acknowledges and permits bounty hunters to go where they please-with certain restrictions here and there" Pacifica explained "I just told them the name of our ship. They check us out on their data logs to give us a quick overview to see our bounty hunting history, and ta-da! we're in like flynn"

Mabel's reply to that came in the form of another hug to her pseudo-friend, who this time accepted the hug rather then shove her off. This may be the last time she was going to get any physical contact from the Padawan so she decided to to stand their and enjoy it while it lasted. After several seconds, Mabel finally parted ways, making the bounty hunter feel a tinge of sadness creep up in her mind. She quickly regained her composure and looked over to Candi.

"Alright Candi, take us down to the planet" she said to the Twi'Lek

* * *

As instructed by the Imperial ship, the crew of the Everfree did not stray from their course. As they flew closer to the floating city, Mabel kept her gaze firmly locked on it the flight there. It was now or never, she had to find, she had to find Stanly or her quest to become a Jedi Knight would all be but a dream she could never fulfill.

Once they docked, Mabel was the first to step out of the ship and see Cloud City first hand. It was very industrial and yet very serene at the same time. When they were flying toward the city, they could see massive, beautiful spires and elegant buildings and shined over the sunlight. but those buildings were at the top layer of the city, the group of girl were currently in the lower levels, where a majority of the mining was as well as the spaceport itself.

The other major thing the young Jedi noticed was that of the number of Stromtroopers that were currently around lower levels. However, it didn't look like they were in a show of force-in fact, they mostly just standing around or at the bars and sabacc tables, even some of the officers were joining them in the debauchery. Even though the Imperial soldiers seemed to be more relaxed, Mabel get her guard up in case things spiraled out of control.

She turned around and expected to see The Everfree preparing to take off and leave her there since Pacifica kept kept her word, but instead she found all three bounty hunters departing from the ship and walking down to stand next to her. She felt a wave of joy rise in her chest, for she feared she would not be able to say goodbye to the only friends she had left in the galaxy.

"I thought you'd want to be done with me?" the Padawan asked, trying to hide her smugness in her tone

"I figured we'd at least stick around until you found this guy, then we'll split" the blonde answered "Besides, it'd be kinda of a dick move just to ditch you here with all these Troopers around"

"Thanks guys" she said to them with a thankful smile

"Well, what are we waiting for? let' find this Jed-" Candi attempted to say before her leader covered her mouth

"You wanna not say the 'J' word in front all these Imperials?" the former heiress scolded in a harsh whisper as she scowled at the Twi'lek "We need to keep a low profile or we'll be up to our necks in Stormtroopers!"

Candi nodded in understanding before Pacifica uncovered her mouth.

"Maybe I can sense him out" Mabel commented "If he's here, then maybe I can reach out to him through the Force"

With that, Mabel closed her eyes and opened herself up to the Force. She felt the flow of its energy surround her as she tried to find any trace of her new teacher. But alas, she could sense no trace of the fellow Jedi.

"He's not here.." she informed the girls in total dejection

"You don't know that for sure" Greta commented

"I tried to reach out to him through the Force and felt nothing!" Mabel suddenly snapped in anger "I came all the way out here for nothing!"

"Hey take it easy, Mabel" Pacifica tried to sooth "You can't just give up after one try. He could be just hiding himself or something. Can't you guys conceal yourselves from other Force-users or something?"

The young bounty hunter had a point. Maybe Stanly was here and he was merely hiding himself away from the Empire's Inquisitors. If that where true then Mabel's new master could be anyone on Cloud City and she had no idea where to start.

"So what do we do?" she asked

"Simple: we ask around" the former heiress informed her

"But where do we even star?" Greta questioned

"The best place to get cheap info" her leader replied "Ladies, let's hit the bars!"

* * *

Like Pacifica suggested, the group of girls started their search at the cantina. The cantina went by the name of The Vapor Room. it was a outside bar that wasn't two far away from the spaceports and had the small and very irritable pig-like creatures called Ugnaughts as the drink servers. As the group entered the cantina, suspicious eyes from miners, travelers and Imperial Officers laid upon them. Mabel and the bounty hunter keep their hands close to their weapons in the event they had to stand up against any resistance. The four girls sat down at the bar table where an Ithorian bartender approached them.

"What'll it be?" he asked in basic through his voice modulator

Just before Pacifica could ask for Rao on the rocks, Mabel cut her off.

"Actuality, we're looking for someone" she began "Have you heard of a man by the name of Stanly?"

The Ithorian's interest was peaked when he that name.

"Y'a must mean Stan" the bartender answered "And yeah, I know him. He used to be a regular here until I threw him out a few days ago"

"Threw him out?" Mabel repeated, clearly taken aback by that statement

"He's nothing but an old drunk who ever paid his bar-tabs" the bartender explained "Besides, he smelled like a dead Gammoren. He was driving costumers away"

Mabel could hardly believe what she was hearing right now. Was this the person who supposed to continue her training in the ways of the Force? She refused to believe what the bartender was telling her and jumped off of her seat and began to storm out of the The Vapor Room. Candi and Greta were about to leave their seats as well and chase after their friend, but Pacifica gestured for to stay put.

"Let her go, she needs her space right now" she informed them before looking back at the Ithorian "Rao, on the rocks for all three of us"

The bartender gave a small nod to response before starting to make their drinks. As the alien prepared their drinks, the blonde bounty hunter decided to bring up another question.

"So what's with all the Imperials?" she questioned, as she eyed a few troopers making cat-calls to a Twi'lek prostitute

"Their ship's hyperdrive is busted" the bartender said as him handed them their drinks "They've been on sort of a three-day pass while the techs try to fix the damn thing. Personally the sooner they leave the better, they've been scaring away all my regulars"

"That's it? their just bored?" Pacifica commented, confused before taking a sip of her beverage

The Ithorian's eyes narrowed as he did a quick look to both his sides to make sure none of the Troopers or their officers were in earshot of what he was about to say next. He then motioned for the three girls to come closer as he leaned in.

"It may not be the only thing" he began in a low tone "There's a rumors goin' around that their also looking for a Jedi right here in Cloud City"

Pacifica gagged on her glass of Rao upon hearing that last part. She then slammed her beverage on the bartable before racing off to find Mabel, leaving Candi and Greta to pay for the drinks. While the former heiress chased after the Jedi in training to tell her the information she was just given, she failed to noticed one of The Vapor Room's patrons track her as she left the cantina with his yellow eyes. He then got up from his seat in the far back of the cantina and proceeded to make his way out of establishment and followed after the bounty hunter.

He kept his distance from the young girl as he silently stalked her through Cloud City's spaceport. He hide before a corner before taking out a small holo-player and activating it with his long claws. The small image of a human figure was shown on the device whom Pacifica's pursuer bowed his head to in respect.

"Boss, we got trouble" he said to the image "There's some bounty hunters down here over by The Vapor Room and they were asking for Stanly"

"Are you sure?" the figure asked with concern

"Yeah, and I don't think they'll be leaving anytime soon" the holo-player answered "How do you wanna handle this?"

The image on the other end thought for a moment before giving his answer.

"Get ride of them" he ordered "We can't be found out"

"You got it, dude" the alien answered with a grin, revealing his long fangs

* * *

The second The Soul Eater came out of Hyperspace, Ren quickly made his way to the front of the ship and right into the cockpit to see the planet that Snoke had told him to meet with him. Even in the planet's orbit, a part of him still couldn't believe that he was still here. He read of this world in books and thought it was lost to the ages. But there it was in in all its dark glory. The Imperial commandos were also awestruck by the planet they were currently looking at as well. When they first given the coordinates, they thought that they were going on a wild bantha chase, now that opinion had drastically changed.

"Set us down at once" Ren commanded "We're going down there"

"This doesn't make any sense" Lee said in awe as he looked on the planet "the star-charts say there's noting out here-this is impossible!"

"And yet, there it is" his leader replied coldly

"Sir, this planet...what's it called?" Nate asked

Ren kept his sights locked on the long-lost plant as he spoke its forgotten name.

"Korriban"


	5. Shadows of Korriban

Chapter Five: Shadows of Korriban

As Ren stepped off of his ship and on to the dry soil of Korriban, he took in the sights around him. Thousands of years ago, it was on this this planet that events began to be put in motion that would one day culminate into the Sith ruling over the galaxy once more with a galactic empire under their control. Back when Ren was still an apprentice to the echo of Darth Plagueis, the shadow of the Sith Lord would tell the boy stories of this once great planet and mighty Sith Lords that learned the ways of the dark side in it's hallowed temples. Long had Ren yearned to be standing on same ground as the likes of Revan, Malgus and Bane once stood upon, and now here was finally here.

Despite his silent awe of the plant, Ren remained focused on why he was here in the first place. He and his commandos had traveled here so that the young Inquisitor may have an audience with Snoke, a person only he knew of. Like Weny, Ren kept his troops from knowing his true intentions as to why he had come here; he only brought them with him so that should this Snoke attempt to deceive him he would have numbers and skill on his side.

"Sir" Tambry began with a salute as she approached him "we've secured the perimeter and are awaiting your further orders"

"Good" Ren answered plainly, still looking out at the dry, bleak world before him as he did "I want you all to remain with the ship until I summon you, is that understood?"

"But sir I think that-"

"Is that understood, lieutenant?" Ren reaffirmed in an icy tone through his helmet

Tambry scowled under her helmet at the Inquisitor. Ever since he murdered their former leader, the commandos secretly resented Ren as much as they did Gideon, but they feared his power to even greater extent then they did their previous leader. In their time serving under Ren, he forced them to keep his apprentice and his time training her a secret; as well as hiding his personal trips back to Endor's Moon hidden from the very Empire the swore to uphold. Even though Lee, Nate and Thompson were fine with keeping their heads down, Tambry wanted to put a blaster bolt right between the young Sith's eyes; however, that was much easier said then for now, the lieutenant would comply until the time was right.

"Understood, sir" she gritted through her teeth

With that, Tambry made her way back to The Soul Eater where the rest of her team was already waiting for her there. Once the lieutenant was gone, Ren focused on his next task: trying to find Snoke. As much as he'd like to explore the planet's ruins, the Inquisitor needed to find this possible ally in his future dreams of rebuilding the Sith Order. He held out his hand and closed his eyes, letting the Force be his guide to finding Snoke.

He could feel it, all of it. The rage, the wickedness and the pain of Sith from so long ago flooded through him like a raging river and the boy immersed himself within it, letting the darkness that had saturated this world for eons wash over him and heighten his connection to the dark side. Ren feel deeper and deeper into the Force as he continued to sift through the energy around him so that he may feel a more recent presence on the plant.

Soon enough, Ren felt it. The detection of a large amount of anger resonating in the far north of him. without saying anything to his troops, Ren made his way toward the source of the anger. The commandos watched as the young Inquisitor walk away from the ship, a part of them wished that he would not return.

"Anyone else think this whole thing is insane?" Thompson asked his friends

"I know right?" Lee added on "I mean, what the hell are we even doing out here anyway?"

"Hey as long as the boss is happy, then I'm happy" Nate commented before looking over to his commanding officer "What do you think, LT?"

"I think you all should shut your mouths and do your jobs!" she told them coldly

And the other three commandos quickly did their leader ordered. Ever since Robbie's brutal death, Tambry had become more distant and colder toward the rest of the team. There was a time when she would be the voice of reason among the team, but now she had a hardened solider with a heart full of hatred toward her leader and the galaxy at large.

"Hold the perimeter, I'm going back inside the ship" she ordered as she began to walk up the ship's ramp

"Something up?" Lee asked

"Yeah, there is" his commanding officer answered "It'll be my boot up your ass if you question me again!"

Lee quickly shut his mouth upon hearing that. The young lieutenant stepped inside the ship and made her way to the holo-player, removing her helmet as she did. After opening up a channel, the image of a protocol droid appeared before her.

"Oh, good evening ma'am" the droid answered in a surprised, yet still polite tone "I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon"

"Save it, Let me see her, XJ" Tambry said

"But ma'am, she just went to sleep" the droid informed her

"Now, XJ" she demanded in low, dark tone

XJ-18 nodded in compliance before walking off screen. a few moments later, the droid returned with something - or better put, someone in its arms. It was a small infant girl wrapped in a swaddling cloth whose very sight of it made Tambry form a small smile with her lips. The baby was still asleep in the droids arms, but let out a small coo that caused the commando's heart to warm up by the very sound.

"Hello Phasma" she said softly to the sleeping baby "It's mommy"

Imperial special-ops soldiers where forbidden to have children by law since the Empire needed their soldiers to remain focused on the mission and nothing else. When Tambry first realized that she was pregnant, she went to the unborn child's farther for help, however, all he told her was to get rid of it out of fear of having them both severely punished. the commando ignored his words and instead hid the baby's existence for several months until her belly had grown to large. Tambry took her accumulated shore-leave that she had been saving up and went to Naboo where she soon had the child in secret.

At first she considered of giving the child up anonymously for adoption at a local orphanage, but when she held her daughter in her arms for the first time; all she could think was being apart of this infant's new life. But her days from the squad where coming to an end, and if The Empire discovered this violation of their laws; they'd kill both her and the child. So she purchased a protocol droid and a put them up on a small flat on Naboo for the droid to care for the baby whenever she wasn't around in peace.

Once she returned to service, she longed to tell her daughter's farther about her, but what could she say to him? he would no doubt vexed that she kept the baby and put them all in jeopardy for her actions. Eventuality, she worked up the courage to try to him about the daughter he never knew, but before she could tell him upfront, she watched the farther of her child be murdered by the very person she now was forced to work for.

"She's been been quite all day, ma'am" XJ informed her "hardly a fuss from her at all"

"That's good XJ, just keep her out of sight for a little while longer" Tambry replied "I'll be back after this mission"

She took one more look at her child and wanted desperately to hold her in her arms once more. But for now she would have to settle blowing a kiss to her baby before cutting communication with XJ. She then put her her helmet back on and stepped back outside, pretending like nothing had happened.

* * *

With every breath he took, Ren felt the hot, dry air through the filter in his helmet as he pressed onward. He continued his path in following the presence he had felt and did not deviate from his course - as much as he wanted to. As he walked along the hot sands, he wondered what this planet must have been like in the halcyon days of the Sith in the days of the Old Republic.

It was on Korriban where the republic commanded the Jedi to bomb the planet relentlessly and force the Sith to seek refuge on Dromund Kaas and begin their long planed vengeance on their ancient enemies. This was the birthplace of the ill-fated Brotherhood of Darkness and of Darth Bane's Rule of Two, and so much more history that Ren longed to understand more of.

Ren past massive statues of long dead Sith Lords that where carved out of the rock faces of mountainsides. The stone giants still cast a shadow over the empty landscape that would make lesser men tremble under their forever frozen gaze. But Ren was no mere man, he was Sith destined to reshape the order as Bane had done thousands of years ago, but unlike his Rule of Two, Ren's knights would be forever united in the shared hatred of the Jedi.

Soon enough, the energy the young Inquisitor had sensed lead him to an amazing find. Only sixty-feet away from where he was now, was a massive Sith temple. Like ones he had seen in Gideon's books, this temple was a pyramid-shaped building that as black as the midnight sky with a bright red tip at the top that housed great power within it. The temple was adorned in the ancient language of the Sith - both pure-blood and otherwise, working as both a welcoming to those sought out knowledge and a warning to those who denied the dark side.

Ren quickened his pace in order to reach the temple faster, letting his excitement get the better of him for a small moment. As he drew closer to building, he felt cold resonating from it's mighty form and embraced its power; as if he was letting it know that this was student seeking out true power.

Once he finally reached the temple, the young Inquisitor took in its magnificence up close, before reaching out with his hand and the Force and touching the doors to the temple. he channeled everything her hand into his hands as he began to pull the stone doors apart with the Force until he finally managed to open them. Just as he did, Ren felt a surge of long-forgotten rage and malice run through him and welcomed it's power to be flown through him like a conduit, strengthening his connection to the dark side in doing so.

Ren stepped inside the temple, closing the door behind him as he did so on the off chance someone came along and tried to disturb him, they would not get far without the aid of the Force. The now dark corridor was suddenly lit up by the cold blue light of a strange fire that had somehow been ignited upon the torches that hung from the hallway.

Ren could feel the darkness from all around him as he walked down the hallway, taking in the carvings on the wall as he did. He still had to find Snoke, so for now, he would put his reading of the old texts on hold until he had completed his task. He had to give his possible ally credit, he assumed that when he got the coordinates to Korriban that it was perhaps a ruse, but now the young Inquisitor was gladly proven wrong.

" _I might just thank him for this_ " Ren thought to himself

Soon Ren found himself out of the hallway and into what looked like a small arena; now doubt a training ground for Sith apprentices to hone their skills in lightsaber combat. It was a small square-shaped ring made of stone with stands that were also made of stone surrounding it. Ren stepped into the center of the ring, admiring its structure all around him, imagining what it would've been like to be in this ring and facing off with another apprentice in a fight to the death in order to appease their master and advance onward to their future of becoming a true Sith lord.

Suddenly, he felt a disturbance in the Force. Ren the presence of someone new around him, and it wasn't the presence he was following into the temple; this felt somewhat familiar to him. Instinctively, he removed his lightsaber from his belt and ignited its blade, ready to cut done whoever was quickly approaching him.

"Hello, Dipper" an all to familiar voice greeted in a voice laced with venom in each word

The Inquisitor spun around to face the source of the voice and much to his shock, saw someone he had thought he'd never see again stepping out of the shadows on the opposite end of the arena.

His twin sister, Mabel.

Ren took in the new appearance of his sibling with much surprise, though he hid it well under his helmet. She was dressed in a black tunic with black gloves and boots. Hair long brown hair was tied into a ponytail that had a white streak going along the side of it. Her brown eyes had changed to yellow like her brother's and her skin was slightly paler then the last time he had seen her. Ren could feel the power of the dark side around her, and from what he could feel from it, it rivaled his own power. Ren also took notice of his sister's new lightsaber; which was long hilt design with black coated steel. Rather then embrace one another like most long-lost family members would normally do, the twins began to circle one another in the arena like two Acklay's sizing each other up before a fight.

"Mabel?" he said in disbelief "How is this possible?"

"After our battle, I embraced the dark side like you had and began my quest to become a true Sith" she explained darkly "I traveled the galaxy in search of knowledge of the dark side until I finally found my way here to Korriban"

To show her power off, Mabel held up her hand and began to generate sparks of pale blue lightning from it before drawing it back into herself.

"It was here in this very temple that I trained my body and mind in the ways of the Sith" she continued "you where right Dipper, this is a true path to power"

"Then join me, Mabel" Ren offered "I can show you the true power of the dark side"

Mabel's face contorted into look of disgust upon hearing those words.

"Join you?" she spat with distaste "I'd rather be stuck with the Ewoks then join you!"

A hot flash of surprise and anger rushed through Ren's veins when he his offer was denied. Of course Mabel would still refuse to join him; even though she had accepted the dark side, she still rejected true power when she saw it.

"Don't be stupid, Mabel" the young Inquisitor said "with our combined strength, we can rule the galaxy as brother and sister"

"No, I think not" his sister retorted "There's only one person here who deserves to rule the galaxy. And sadly, that person isn't you"

Ren stopped in his tracks, making Mabel do the same. The boy's grip on his lightsaber tightened as he glared daggers at his twin, who only smirked at him wickedly.

"Do you really want to do this again, Dipper?" she asked a darkly playful tone "Did you forget how our last fight turned out?"

"That won't happen again" Ren replied harshly "My powers have doubled since the last time we fought"

"Good" his sibling said as she took out her weapon "Twice the pride, double the fall"

Mabel then held out her weapon and turned it horizontally. Suddenly, two red blades shot out from both ends of the hilt. It was a saberstaff, the weapon used such great Sith as Darth Maul and Exar Kun, and now it seems Mabel may have joined those legends in learning how to use it.

No other words where spoken between them as they took their battle stances. In his time with the other Inquisitors, Ren had learned to mix other forms of lightsaber combat with Shien style of two forms he really took to where Dejim-So and Vaapad; both styles being aggressive and rage-driven in combat. But the trouble was that Ren didn't know what new forms Mabel had taught herself during her time on Korriban, in fact, she may have abandoned her Soresu style for something similar to his new forms.

In the blink of an eye, the two siblings suddenly bolted at one another. Their red blades crashed against one another as the dual began. With every strike Ren attempted, Mabel easily parried and struck with a ferocity that her brother had no idea she had.

Aside from his battle with Gideon, Ren had never dueled against anyone with a saberstaff in a one one match before; and even then when he fought Gideon Mabel was there fighting the same enemy as he was. As the dual continued, it became very clear to the boy that his sibling had in fact abolished her Soresu form for the more balanced Niman form; the form that Exar Kun had perfected in his time to become nearly unstoppable, it even felt like Ren wasn't fighting his sister at all, but a younger version of the once great Sith Lord.

"Your a disgrace!" Mabel snarled as they locked blades once more "You should be ashamed to even think you can call yourself a Sith Lord!"

"I am a true Sith!" Ren declared

"We'll see about that" his sister replied snidely

Mabel shoved her brother back and launched a bolt of lightning from her fingertips, striking her twin's helmet and forcing an agony-filled scream from his mouth. Ren collapsed on the floor, heaving for breath and making him drop his weapon in the process. The power in his helmet's respirator had been knocked out, the damage could be fixed; assuming he lived long enough to do so.

"Look at you" Mabel mocked as she circled him "You can't even survive without your precious helmet!"

Ren struggled for breath with every gasp within his damaged helmet. True he could breath without it, but those times where short and where difficult to do so. He reached up and yanked his helmet off before tossing it aside, looking up at his sister with his own two eyes with rage in them.

"I should just kill you and end your misery" she continued, raising her saberstaff high over him "Don't worry Dipper, I'll make this quick"

With that she plunged her lightsaber toward his face. Acting quickly, Ren grabbed his lightsaber in one hand to block the blade and Force-push his sibling backwards with the other. this gave him enough to gather his his thought and begin to use the Force to hold his lungs together and open his air passageway to allow him to breath normally for a short time. With his rage refueling his strength and vigor, Ren got back to his feet and readided himself for the next round of combat.

"The Force will sustain me for now" he informed

"Good" his twin answered "Better focused on you then me"

"Enough!" the Inquisitor snapped "We end this now!"

In a flash, Ren lunged at Mabel with a fury unlike this dark had felt in a long time. The siblings of the Force clashed with the intensity of a pair of warring gods. Every thrust was matched blow for blow as their hatred for one another kept them strong in the on-going battle. They didn't see ech other as brother and sister, but obstacle in their paths that needed to be removed. Soon, Ren's rage gave him the need to put Mabel on the defensive this time until he made one misstep in their battle and Ren was giving the opening he needed to cut her staff in half and severe her left arm from her shoulder.

Mabel screamed in pain as she fell in the stone floor. Trying to bounce back from her devastating wound, Mabel tried to swing her saber at her brother once more, but with a strong strike of his own, Ren knocked the other half of the blade into the air and into his robotic hand. Mabel's face changed from one of wickedness to one of fear and need of sympathy as her twin stared down at her with a look of murder written in his expression.

"Y-you wouldn't Dipper!" she pleaded in terror "I-I'm your own sister! please spare-"

The girl's words were cut off when Ren impaled both lightsabers through both of her eyes and protruded out through the back of her head, killing her instantly. As his sister's body collapsed to the floor in a lifeless heap, the young Inquisitor felt something rise in his chest that he thought he'd never feel again: joy. Though he did not express it, in his mind he was cheering praises to the Force for giving him this chance to fulfill his vengeance. Now with Mabel gone, he could move past his vendetta and continue with mission of re-shaping the Sith without the fear of her ruining his plans.

"I always hated being called that name" the young Sith said to his twin's corpse

Ren then switched his weapon off as he tossed the other half of the saberstaff to it's owner's body before going back over to his helmet. After resetting the respirator, he then placed it back over his head and began to breath normally once again.

The young Sith looked back over his sister's body as a last mental reminder of his triumph over her before preparing to move deeper into the temple. He had only taken a few steps away when suddenly Mabel's corpse pulled itself up like a marionette doll. Obviously shocked by this, Ren reignited his lightsaber and charged once more at his twin. But just as his blade cut into her skin, her whole body suddenly morphed into a cloud of dark green smoke.

The smoke circled around him several times before stopping in from of him and twisted into a new form, one that was much larger in size. The new form the smoke had taken was that off red-skinned creature dressed in gold and purple clothing that looked like it should belong to some king. The alien's eyes where yellow and it has to small tendrils hanging from it's cheeks. There was no doubt in Ren's mind that this was Sith pure-blood standing before him.

"Who are you?" he demanded

"For one who claims to know so much of our history, I shouldn't have to tell you, boy" the pure-blood snorted "I am Ludo Kreesh"

Ren's eyes widen within in helmet. Ludo Kreesh was a powerful sorcerer who was a rival to the leader of the Sith during The Great Hyperspace War, Naga Sidow until he was slain by his rival when he was attempted to usurp power out from under a defeated Sidow. Even though he was a footnote in the Sith's long history, Ren still showed great respect for him as he bowed before the pure-blood's spirit.

"It is an honor to meet you, my lord" the boy began "But if I may ask, why the deception?"

"You should know that deception comes with being a Sith" Ludo informed him "I wanted to see if you where truly worthy of steeping into this sacred place. So I reached into your mind and took the form of the one person you say that you hate the most and wanted to see if you could go through with killing your own sister"

"And as you can see, I was more then capable of doing so" the Inquisitor replied

"That you are, and you have past my test" Ludo answered "The first of many"

"What do you mean, my lord?" Ren inquired

"Ever since you set foot on to this planet, the spirits of Korriban took notice of your connection to the dark side" the pure-blood explained "Myself and the others wanted to test how dedicated you where to our traditions"

"Have I not proven myself?" the young Sith asked

"To me, yes, but you must now prove yourself to the others" Ludo answered

With a wave of his hand, Ludo opened a stone door on the other side of the training arena.

"Go now. Prove yourself worthy of being called a Sith" he ordered to the boy

Ren knew his true mission was finding Snoke, not proving his worth to the ghosts of the past. But he couldn't deny that he was tempted by the idea of showing his power to the great masters of old, and whose to say he wouldn't find Snoke along the way?

"I _**am**_ a Sith!" he announced to Kreesh's ghost as he walked through the open door

"That remains to be seen" the spirit said as he watched the door close behind Ren


	6. Last of The Nightsisters

Chapter Six: Last of The Nightsisters

" _Remember your training, strike the second an opportunity presents itself_ " Wendy reminded herself as she held her weapon at the ready

The apprentice kept her breathing shallow and steady as she raised her make-shift spear at level with her head with one hand while she used her other to take aim at her target. Once she saw her chance, the apprentice trust her spear downward and struck her victim in the back of its neck. The teenager put pressure on the spearhead and she she jammed it further into her prey's neck as it continued to thrash about hopelessly. Soon enough, the young Sith's target finally died off.

Wendy back the spear out of the small stream and observed the fish she had just slain. It was slightly larger then the fish she had caught, but only by a small margin at best - at least she wouldn't be going hungry tonight. After placing her catch with the rest of the fish she had killed inside of a satchel she had made out of animal skins, she began to make her way back to her camp.

By her count, the Sith in training had been on Dathomir for almost two weeks now, and in that time she had learned to survive in this harsh environment very quickly. Her time growing up on Tatooine had given her an edge in living in rough conditions. Wendy's time as a moisture farmer's daughter had taught her how to make due with what she had and her farther imparted most of his knowledge on thriving off the land onto her as she grew up along the Dune Sea.

But Dathomir was not like Tattooine. Instead of searing heat under the planet's two suns and ice-cold nights under it's moon like on her home-world, Dathomir was a humid, wet and swampy place with hardly any life to be found - and the ones Wendy did find where mostly foul tasting birds and fish like ones she had just gathered for dinner tonight. Death hung over Dathomir like a noose and it showed everywhere the Sith apprentice seemed to go.

In her time here, Wendy had taken up residence in a small cave that was surrounded by some of the many dead trees that where common on the plant and was about twenty meters away from the shallow stream were she did her spear-fishing. Within the cave she practiced her meditation and honed her skills in the ways of the dark side. With each passing day, she could herself grow stronger in her connection to the Force, but yet she knew she still wasn't even on the same level as her master - not that she wanted to challenge him, but to be of more help to him when the time came to overthrow Vader and Palpatine so that they may rule the galaxy in their place.

As Wendy entered the cave, she set her satchel down before using the Force to levitate several chunks of wood from a pile of logs she had gathered up in the corner of the cave. She then set them down in a fire-pit she had dug out during stay and proceeded to zap the wood with a small bolt of Force Lightning from the tip of her index finger, setting it flame in seconds. Ren would scold her if he knew that she had used her powers for such a menial task, but then again, he wasn't around to do so now was he?

The Sith apprentice sat down on a small rock by the fire as she reached into her satchel and pulled out the fish she had just killed and impaled it once more on her spear. She then placed her meal over the fire and let it cook over the Force made fire for several minutes before pulling it back and begin her feast. The fish and other wildlife on Dathomir were all equally bad tasting; as if they where the living dead - but cooking did help make them at least edible for the most part.

As the teen feasted on the fish, she took in the pale sights of the landscape just outside the cave and began to wonder what it must of been like in the halcyon days of the Nightsisters. In the two weeks she had been her, Wendy had been unable to find their temple, however, she had found remnants of the final battle against the Separatists army that drove the sisterhood of witches to extinction.

During her time hunting and training, she would find rusted parts of long deactivated droids alongside the molding skeletons of the clan who where still dressed in the now tattered cloaks they had died in scattered about the forest. Seeing the corpses of the Nightsisters stirred a sort of sadness within Wendy, sometimes making her shed a tear for the long-dead witches. It was almost as if she was experiencing the death of her own family all over again, and in a way, that was almost true. Ever since she was left on this planet by her master, she felt this strange connection to this place, like she always destined to come here.

What must have it felt like during the final hours of the Nightsisters tragic battle against General Grievous and his droid army? where they scared, or did they face their deaths with pride and fought to the very last women? more importantly, what did Mother Talzin do when the end came to her sisterhood's doorstep?

Mother, now that was word Wendy wasn't to familiar with. In her time growing up in the Dune Sea with her farther and three brothers, she would often wonder what had happened to her mother. Her farther once told her that her mother had passed away shortly after giving birth to her brothers due to some rare blood disease, but she always had a sense that wasn't the full story he was telling her - or that it was even the true story for that matter. Wendy could never really remember what her mother looked like; no matter how hard she tried to focus on it, she couldn't even remember a single image of what her mother's face even resembled.

Even though her farther never really liked talking about her mother all that much, he did tell the young Sith once of how they met. Before he was a humble moisture farmer, Wendy's farther as a gunrunner for the Republic; selling some of the finest weapons on the black market to them so that they may get an edge on the droid army. One day, he came across a pale-skinned bounty hunter who was looking for some high-grade weapons. The two became close; and though they never married, they settled down on Tattooine for a short time until her untimely death.

Just as she finished eating her fish, Wendy's eyes caught a brief glimpse of a faint shimmer of pale green light among the treeline. She had noticed this shimmer before. Ever since she arrived on Dathomir, she sometimes spotted a quick look of this shimmer out of the corner of her eye before it instantly faded away. At first, she assumed that it was merely her mind playing tricks on her, but after multiple sightings of this shimmer of light, she knew that this was something else entirely.

Wendy barley slept out of fear that this shimmer was something that meant to do her harm and always kept her guard up whenever she traveled out of the cave. Unlike before when she try to get a better look at the green light and it would vanish, this time the light was clearly visible to her. The Sith apprentice jumped to her feet and held her spear at the ready as light grew brighter as it began to move out of the forest and toward the cave.

As the light moved away from the treeline, it revealed its true form to the teenager. The light was a floating orb of pale green energy that was no bigger then her head hovered over the ground and shined with an eerily beautiful luminescence to it. Wendy held her crude weapon tightly in her hands as it drew closer to her. This was one of those times when she wished that Ren would have allowed her to construct her own lightsaber earlier in her training. But even though she did have a lightsaber at her disposal, that didn't mean she was helpless.

The orb stop in 'tracks' so to speak just outside the mouth of the cave. As much as Wendy wanted to drive her spear through it or blast it away with a Force-push, she couldn't bring herself to do anything of those things. There was something almost...familiar about the orb as it floating before her. The ball of light did nothing for a minute or two; it was as if it was studying her. Just then, the orb began to slowly float away from her and back toward the trees.

"No wait! come back!" Wendy nearly shouted as she found herself quickly following after the orb

The ball of light paused in its movement as Wendy ran up to it. Just as it was a few feet from her, it began to move toward the dark forest once again. She stopped for a moment in confusion, surprisingly making the ball of light stop as well. Perplexed by this, Wendy decided to try out a theory something out. Every time she moved toward the orb, it would move away from her, but every time she stopped, so did it. It was almost as if it was based on her movements; or perhaps, it was something else entirely.

"Do you want me to follow you?" she asked it

Of course, the orb said nothing and began to move again when Wendy started walking. As she silently followed the orb to wherever it was she was leading her, the young apprentice began to wonder what lied ahead of her at this end of this path? She still had no idea what exactly this orb was made out of or why it had been following her around for the past two weeks, but if this was leading her to some sort of trap, Wendy was more the capable to make whoever set this up pay dearly for their mistake.

It was strange, try as she might, she couldn't sense anything from the orb through the Force; it was if it was an anomaly to the very galaxy itself. Both her Sith training and her basic instincts where telling her to stop what she was doing and find a way to destroy this ball of light, however, she allowed her curiosity get the better of her and allowed the orb to lead her to wherever it was taking her to.

After nearly an hour of silently walking through the dead woods of Dathomir, the glowing orb lead Wendy to place she had tried desperately to find for so long: the temple of the Nightsisters. Wendy stopped dead in her tracks as she gazed up in awe at the scared building that now stood before her. It was a massive square structure that was carved out f the side of a massive cave with large pillars that where shaped in the likeness of the once great witches who lived on Dathomir.

The orb of light suddenly moved on without Wendy and toward the temple, making the Sith in training break away from the sight before her and give chase to it. When the orb reached the temple, it phased through the two giant stone doors at the entrance and disappeared from Wendy's sight. Wanting to get answers and to see the inside of the temple, Wendy discarded her spear before she channeled the Force through her body and began to pull open the doors with every inch of her strength. Finally, she managed to yank the doors open and headed inside.

If she thought the outside of the temple was wondrous; it didn't hold a candle to its inner beauty. She could feel the very air within the room thick with darkness; she almost felt as if it was making her stronger. There where more stone statues and shines to Nightsisters from generations ago that still shined with the gold and jewels they where adorned with. Wendy almost completely forgot the orb that had brought her here as she took in wonders around her.

" ** _At long last, you have finally come_** " a feminine yet almost demonic voice echoed throughout the temple

Wendy's muscles tensed as she instantly prepared for combat at the sound of the voice. She let herself get careless, she had let herself be taken in by the temple that she had forgotten to keep her senses sharp in case something like this should happen. If Ren had seen this, he would now doubt be holding her throat in the invisible clutches of the Force right now for being so careless right now.

Just then, the orb of light floated down from the ceiling above the teenager and down to where she was standing. The orb then began to morph into a different form all together right in front of her. The orb's new form was that of a tall woman dressed in dark crimson robes with pale white skin and black markings around her eyes and mouth. While the woman's body could be seen, it did look almost transparent to the young Sith.

Wendy let out gasp in shock as she gazed upon the woman that was now standing before her. She didn't need to be told who this newcomer was, for she had read about her in studies of Dathomir's history.

"Mother Talzin..." she almost whispered in amazement

" _ **Welcome, Wendy**_ " Talzin greeted with a small bow of her head " _ **I have been waiting to see you for so long**_ "

"I don't understand" the apprentice said in confusion "Why did you want to see me?"

" _ **It is understandable that you do not know of your heritage, my dear**_ " The witch answered " _ **Your mother never told you of your true self**_ "

"My-my mother?" she stammered out in surprise

" _ **Your mother was one of us"**_ Talzin explained " _ **She was a Nightsister**_ "

Wendy's inner world took a major hit upon hearing those words. Her whole life she was told that her mother was just a surly bounty hunter who settled down with a moisture farmer before her death. But she never thought that the women who gave her life was once a member to this ancient order of witches. Did her farther know? and if it did, why didn't he ever tell her?

And more importantly: did Ren know of her lineage?

"I...I can't believe this" she breathed out, as if she had the very air sucked out of her "My mother was a bounty hunter who died of an illness. She couldn't have been a Nightsister!"

" _ **In a sense, you are half right**_ " the witch said " _ **When our sisterhood was annihilated by Dooku's army, your mother and I were the only survivors. I told her to forge her own destiny, and in doing so she became a bounty hunter**_ "

Like being struck by the fist of a Rancor, Wendy was suddenly hit with a revelation as to the true identity of her unknown mother. There was only one Nightsister who ever became a bounty hunter.

"It can't be..." she whispered out in a stunned whisper

" _ **Yes...**_ " Talzin confirmed as she pointed one long, bony finger at her " _ **You are the daughter of Asajj Ventress**_ "

"That-that's not true!" Wendy exclaimed in total disbelief "That's impossible!"

" _ **Search your feeling child, you know it to be true**_ " Talzin replied in pseudo-soothing voice

Wendy collapsed to her knees in a broken heap as the tears flowed down freely down her cheeks. Everything she knew about her own mother was a lie and a world she never knew of and kept from her for all her life. As she wept, the witch reached bent down and attempted to touch the girl with a soothing hand, only to have it pass through the teenager. Talzin jerked her hand back before she noticed.

" _ **I am truly sorry you had to find out this way, Wendy**_ " She consoled as softly as she possible could " _ **Please dry your eyes, there is something I must show you**_ "

Forcing the pain down, Wendy wiped away the tears from her eyes and followed Talzin further into the temple. The old witch lead the Sith apprentice into a small shrine where a short stone pedestal stood under a small ray of light that shined in from the ceiling. Sitting on the pedestal and covered in dust, was a small silver box. Talzin gestured with with an outstretched for Wendy to go to it.

The Sith in training cautiously approached the box, wondering what exactly she would find inside of it. She slowly opened the box to find something that would not of expected to find. Within the box where a pair of silver curved-hilt lightsabers.

" _ **They once belonged to your mother**_ " Talzin informed her " _ **She would have wanted you to have them**_ "

Wendy tentatively reached in and took hold of her mother's weapons. They where surprisingly light in her hands; she always thought that that lightsabers where heavy weapons meant to be held in the most skillful of hands. She ignited the dual weapons, releasing twin red blades of energy from them. As Wendy held the two lightsabers in her hands, she could almost feel her mother's presence around her, like she was watching in approval of her daughter now being the owner of her weapons.

The teen then turned to her attention back to Talzin, who looked back her with a proud, yet still forlorn expression on her face. The young sith deactivated the lightsabers - it was high time she asked a question she had wanted to know right from the very start.

"How did my mother really die?" Wendy inquired gently, even though a part of her didn't want to know the answer

Talzin looked away from the teen, her pride now replaced by sadness.

" _ **After spending months as a bounty hunter, your mother was contacted by the Jedi Order to aid in the assassination of Count Dooku**_ " the witch began "Alongside a Jedi named Quinlan Voss, they went deep undercover among the Separatist army to get in close to him"

Talzin clenched her fists in anger before continuing the tragic tale.

" _ **But they where discovered and Dooku slew her in cold blood!**_ " she snarled, letting her demonic tone take hold for a moment " _ **Rather then give her any honor, the Jedi covered up the whole mission and concealed any connection they had with your mother!**_ "

Wendy's fists clenched tightly around her lightsaber hilts as a wave of anger surged throughout her body. Not only did the Jedi dupe her mother into doing their dirty work for them, but they also covered her death as well! It was in that moment that she swore that she would help Ren keep the Jedi Order from ever returning and aid in the total extinction of their entire culture right down to the last Jedi!

" _ **It is not just the Jedi, your rage should be focused on**_ " Talzin spoke up, already knowing the source of her anger " _ **Though Dooku may be gone, his master still lives**_ "

The young Sith knew who she meant by that.

"Palpatine..." Wendy growled darkly

" _ **Yes...**_ " the witch confirmed " _ **It was Palpatine who ordered the extinction of our sisterhood and the death of your mother**_ "

She then raised her hand up to show Wendy that it was becoming transparent.

" _ **Palpatine also destroyed both my psychical and spiritual body**_ " she furthered " _ **In truth, what you see before you is merely a shadow of myself that I left behind for you to find**_ "

"but why would you do that?" Wendy questioned

" _ **Before my death, I sensed your presence the moment you where born**_ " Talzin answered " _ **It was my hope that you would one day find your way to Dathomir so that I may teach all that I know. So I left this shadow behind to help train you in our ways**_ "

Talzin approached the teen and tried to put a hand on her shoulder, only for it to pass through her like before so that she may get the point across.

" _ **You may be half our blood, but you are the last of our race**_ " the witch continued " _ **You are our only hope!**_ _ **You must** **avenge your people - avenge your mother!**_ "

It was then that Wendy knew what she had to do. With Talzin's teachings mixed with Ren's, she would bring down the vengeance of the Nightsisters - the very life she was refused of - down on the heads on both the Jedi and the Empire, and from the ashes of the galaxy, she and Ren would rebuild it all in their image.

"Teach me..." she said as she bowed before the shadow of the witch "teach me everything!"

* * *

 **A/N: If anyone was curious what Talzin was talking about in regards to Ventress's death and her encounter with Palpatine. Those where direct references to the two in-cannon stories Star Wars: Dark Disciple and Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir.**


	7. The Trandoshan

Chapter Seven: The Trandoshan

Mabel stood upon a small balcony at the spaceport as she looked out to the horizon that cascaded over the seemingly endless sea of clouds, trying to fight the frustration that she was feeling with the help of this calming scenery. She had traveled half-across the galaxy to find this Stanly character and now she was hearing all these rumors that he was nothing more then some old drunkard. Was the very universe against the idea of her becoming a Jedi? Was she meant to remain a Padawan for the rest of her life? She was so racked with anger and confusion that she failed to notice Pacifica walking toward her.

"About time I found you" the bounty hunter said as she approached her "So I got good news and bad news. The good news is that that Stanly guy really is here"

"And the bad news?" Mabel asked

"The Empire is looking for a Jedi" the blonde answered before quickly adding "But I don't think they've figured out Stanly is the Jedi their looking for!"

Mabel looked away from her friend and back out to the horizon before giving her answer.

"You should get out of here then" she suggested stoically "If the Empire discovers me, then you and the others will arrested or worse for harboring a Jedi"

Pacifica was taken aback what the normally cheery Jedi was asking of her.

"But what about you?" she asked, trying to hide her concern as she did

"I'll stay here and try to find Stanly" Mabel replied before ending icily "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Pacifica didn't know how to answer that right away. She could do as she planned and she and her crew could leave the young Jedi behind as she had originally intended, but her conscious was getting the better of her yet again. Plus, she didn't want to say goodbye to the girl just yet.

"I said we'd stay until you found Stanly, and I meant it" the former heiress informed the Padawan, keeping her voice steady as she did "So like it or not Mabel, you're stuck with us a bit longer"

The Padawan couldn't help but have a small smile at that remark like she had before. Though she had her differences with the bounty hunter she did appreciate her help in this matter. However, recently, she had begun to sense a sudden change in the young blonde's behavior toward her. She could feel the bounty hunter's emotions brighten whenever she was close to her despite her hardened outer appearance. While she had a pretty good idea as to why Pacifica feeling's where hidden from her, she didn't want to say anything outright on her friend's behalf; allowing her to say her peace when at a time she felt right. However, the Jedi in training didn't know what she would do if or when that moment of revelation would happen honestly.

Just then, Mabel a small tremor in the Force—like it was a warning for her that danger was nearby. She then glanced downward at the spaceport below to see a trandoshan looking back up at her and her friend, and judging by the look of malice in his reptilian eyes, it didn't look like he wanted a friendly chat. She then saw the man-lizard begin to make his way toward the balcony they where currently standing on in an attempt to corner them.

"We have to leave—now!" Mabel commanded quickly

Before Pacifica could ask as to why she had to leave, Mabel took her bay the hand and led her down from the balcony and through a spiral staircase. The padawan wanted to use her Force-speed, but she didn't want to attract too much attention to herself; nor did she want to run the risk of doing her friend any harm in the process. The young bounty hunter protested the entire time they rushed down the stairs, demanding and explanation for the young Jedi's actions. Just as they reached the final step of the spiral staircase, the trandoshan had just reached it, blocking them off.

Like the rest of his species, the trandoshan was tall, however, unlike the rest of kind who where physically fit, this one was heavyset with a wide belly. The man-lizard was dressed in light blue combat armor around his chest that was covered in dents and scorch marks of battles fought long ago and some old brown trousers that had holes in where the kneecaps where. But what really got the girls attention was the large pulse rifle that was strapped to his back, as well as his razor-sharp teeth and claws.

"Going somewhere?" he hissed with a toothy smirk

"Yeah" Mabel defiantly replied "Right through you!"

In one swift motion, Mabel let go of Pacifica's hand and lunged at the trandoshan with all her strength, knocking him to the ground. The padawan quickly recovered and took off with the bounty hunter by her side while the reptilian assailant slowly clambered back to his feet and gave chase. By the time the man-lizard was off the ground, the two girls already had a good head start. They brushed past and sometimes knocked over the civilians of Cloud City in an effort to slow down their pursuer in the crowded corridors of the industrial colony, but it proved rather ineffective, since the hulking brute merely knocked anyone or anything that stood in his way.

As they ran, Mabel's mind raced with hundred's of questions as to why they where being chased by this transdoshan. Was this some bounty hunter that was stalking her? Did the Empire hire him to hunt her down? Did he know what she was? All this and more plagued her thoughts, making it difficult to keep herself focused on the here and now. While Mabel was having this inner conflict, Pacifica switched on the comm. link in her ear in order to get in contact with her crew

"Candi! Greta! We've got a situation here!" she shouted into the comm "We could use some help right about now!"

"Where are you guys?" Candi's voice asked on the other end of the comm.

"I don't know! Just follow the screams!" her boss shouted back before switching off the comm.

The trandoshan's strides where slower but longer then that of a normal human, allowing him to keep a manageable pace with the two girls; and considering that his species had an amazing amount of stamina, he could easily keep this up while his prey would soon tire from their run. Mabel and Pacifica soon rounded a corner and found themselves back outside in another section of the spaceport. Unlike the part that was closer to the Vapor Room, this area seemed to be nearly empty of anyone—save for a few maintenance and astromech droids that were doing routine repairs on several ships.

"Great now what, princess?" Pacifica chastised

"I don't know, ok?!" Mabel snapped back

"I have a suggestion…" a voice cut in "How about I kill you both and call it a day?"

The two girls turned to see their pursuer standing before them with his weapon charged up and ready to fire. Just before the man-lizard could pull the trigger, Pacifica whipped out her blaster and began to shoot a flurry of blaster bolts at their attacker as she and Mabel ducked behind a parked ship for cover. The trandoshan let out a deep snarl as he too took cover behind another ship. Both the bounty hunter and her enemy traded blaster fire back and fourth from their positions. While Pacifica was excellent shot, her hand-held blaster was simply no match to the firepower the transdoshan had at his claws.

"Feel free to jump in anytime, Mabel!" the former heiress shouted as she fired a few more rounds before ducking once more

Mabel was caught in an internal dilemma. She wanted to help her friend, but with the Imperial presence here and with them already on the hunt for a Jedi, she feared that just the slightest show on her powers would alert them to her being here and put the entire group in danger. As the firefight continued, one of the transdoshan's rifle bolts stuck the blonde's shoulder, making her cry out in pain as she drop her weapon and slumped back against the ship they where hiding behind.

"Pacifica!" Mabel exclaimed in shock "Are you alright?"

"Ugh, what do you think?" the bounty hunter growled back as she tightly clutched her wounded shoulder

The Padawan knew that while her friend wasn't seriously harmed, it wouldn't be before long before their assailant would march over here and finish the job. It was in that moment she knew that in order to defend both herself and Pacifica, she would have to do something that she hadn't done in six months: be a Jedi. Without even giving it a second thought, Mabel reached into her jacket, and in one swift motion, she drew out and activated her lightsaber.

She leapt out from behind the ship, instantly drawing the attention of the transdoshan in doing so. But just as he raised his rifle to fire upon her, he quickly lowered it and gazed upon the young girl with a sudden look of amazement. Ignoring his surprise ceasefire, Mabel used the Fore to rip the man-lizard's weapon out of his claws and fling it half-across the spaceport. Fearing that her enemy may try something else, Mabel channeled the Force into her legs and sprinted up to the transdoshan, where she held the tip of her blade to his scaly throat.

"Who are you, and who sent you?!" she demanded

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy dude!" the man-lizard attempted to ease the situation

"Take it easy? You just attacked us and injured my friend!" Mabel shot back "So forgive me if I don't take it easy!"

"I only shot at you because I didn't know you where a Jedi like my boss!" the transdoshan explained

Mabel's eyes widen in shock upon hearing those words. She took a few steps back and deactivated her weapon to give the humanoid reptile some space, but she still kept her guard up in anticipation that this may be a trap. It was then that Pacifica slowly stood up from behind the ship and carefully approached the scene, not wanting to be shot again.

"What do you mean, 'like your boss'?" Mabel questioned "you mean Stanly?"

"Yeah dude, he's a Jedi like you" the transdoshan answered "He saved me from being locked up in an Imperial prison camp on Sullast and I've been working for him to repay my life-debut ever since"

"So why did you start blasting at us?!" Pacifica demanded harshly

"I thought you guys where bounty hunters looking for Mr. S" the transdoshan replied before quickly asking "you guys aren't bounty hunters, right?"

"We are, but we weren't looking for your boss" Pacifica explained hesitantly, fearing to upset the hulking man-lizard "Well I mean we where—but not to kill him!"

"She was bringing me here so I can complete my training under your boss" Mabel quickly added on "My former master told me to come find him"

"And who was your former master?" the lizard-man inquired

"My great-uncle, Stanford Pines" the Padawan answered, slightly disheartened for saying those words

The transdoshan interest was perked even more after hearing Ford's name.

"So I guess that makes you Mabel Pines" He surmised

"How do you know my name?" the Jedi in training asked

The man-lizard let out a small sigh of defeat before speaking again.

"You two should come with me. Mr. S can explain all this a lot better then I can" he said as he began to turn and walk over to collect his rifle"Names Soos by the way, nice to meet you dudes"

Both Mabel and Pacifica were both unsure what to do. Could this be a trap they were walking into? They weren't sure. But Mabel had to at least give Soos the benefit of the doubt and see if he truly did work for Stanly, however if that was the case, was he being so secretive about it? And how did he and his boss know her name? She had to find out these answers as well as finally get this mysterious Jedi to help her complete her training. So with some trepidation, the two girls followed the transdoshan back into Cloud City to hopefully meet the Jedi that the Padawan had been searching for these past six moths.

However, unbeknownst to the trio, their meeting was witnessed by an unseen Imperial engineer who was hiding out of sight during the conflict...

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed it just the same  
**


	8. Rule of One

Chapter Eight: Rule of One

The very air Ren breathed in seemed to be thick with the dark side as he traversed deeper into the temple. Unlike the hallway before that was light by torches, this one was not, forcing the Inquisitor use his lighsaber to light his way down the seemingly endless hallway. He had no idea how long he had been walking for— an hour? Two hours maybe? It all seemed to blur in his mind as he pressed on. A normal person would've felt exhaustion throughout their body, but the Force gave the boy the stamina he needed to press onward without needing food or drink to slow him done.

After his encounter with the dark spirit of Ludo Kreesh earlier, his mind still raced with excitement over meeting the mighty Sith pure-blood and it made him wonder as to who else he may come across within the hallowed halls of the temple. What made him interested and apprehensive was the supposed test of these other Sith Lords of the past had for him.

The deeper Ren went into the temple, the more he began to wonder if Snoke was even on Korriban at all or if this was some elaborate test the stranger was putting him through. Truth be told, the young Inquisitor was starting to bring up the old theory he once had that Snoke was nothing more then some elaborate test made by Vader to see where the boy's loyalties lied. But he shook off the doubts in his head and pressed onward.

It wasn't to long before be had finally reached an end to the seemingly endless hallway. The room was large and circular in design with a single coffin resting at the center of it. The coffin was made of black stone and sat atop a large stone pedestal that kept it from touching the ground, clearing indicating that this was a Sith Lord of great importance. The boy moved in closer to the tomb and held his blade out to give him enough light to see the full detail of the coffin.

The text upon the coffin was that of the language of the ancient Sith. Normally, only a true lord of the dark side could read such words, but thanks to the teachings Ren had received from the echo of Darth Plagueis the wise, he was able to understand the words that were etched onto the coffin.

" _Here lies Darth Bane, savior of the Sith and the creator of the Rule of Two"_ the Inquisitor read out in his mind

Ren's eyes widen as he backed away from the tomb in astonishment. Darth Bane was by far one of if not the most significant Sith Lords in not just the Sith's history, but that of the galaxy for what he had done. Once a miner on an Outer Rim colony, the man once known as Dessel fled to serve in the Sith Empire after killing a drunken solider of the Republic in self-defense. The Sith themselves had changed drastically after the dark lord Lord Kaan took over and did away with a majority of the old ways of the dark side as they created a new organization called the Brotherhood of Darkness. With serving in an infantry unit known as the Gloom Walkers, Dessel discovered he was Force-sensitive and was taken away to be trained at the Sith academy on Korriban where he took the name Bane.

It was at the academy that his powers grew greater with each passing day. But as his connection to the dark side straightened, his faith in the Sith began to wane. After defeating his rival, a Zabrak named Sirak, he traveled alone into the valley of the Dark Lords to seek the knowledge of those from the distant past and came to a conclusion as where the Sith where heading. Seeing that Kaan's brotherhood would one day mean the end of Sith, Bane took in upon himself to save the Sith; he did so, by first destroying it.

Using an ancient weapon known as a Thought Bomb, he annihilated Kaan and his brotherhood and instated the Rule of Two with his apprentice Darth Zannah at his side. Though this drastically changed the Sith's numbers, it did not dampen their influence in the galaxy. From the shadows the Sith manipulated the galaxy as they saw fit for a thousand years without the Jedi learning of their existence until the day came that Darth Sidious and Darth Vader destroyed their Order and forged the Galactic Empire from the ashes of the Republic.

Although Darth Bane was the one who saved the Sith from itself, Ren's former teacher Plagueis had no love for the so-called savior of the dark side. The echo of the Dark Lord had said that the Rule of Two hindered the Sith instead of helping it, for despite being only two of them, their was always an aura of distrust between master and apprentice that sometimes threatened to destroy them as much as the Jedi did; even he admitted that he fell into the Rule of Two's trap of a need to succeed his master Darth Tenebrous, and it was because of this he nearly destroyed the Sith for his lust for pride and power.

While Ren didn't share in the Muun's hatred for Bane's philosophy—in fact, he admired the dark lord's work—he did, however, share in Plagueis's belief that the Sith should be in greater numbers once more and trust in one another if they where to forever keep the Jedi stamped out and continue to lord over the galaxy as its true masters.

Suddenly, the coffin's lid began to slide open; as if something from within the tomb was pushing it open. Ren instinctually took a battle stance and prepared for whatever was about to emerge from the coffin, after his earlier encounter with Ludo who was masquerading as a darker version of his sister, he left nothing to chance.

The coffin's lid soon slid off of the rest of the tomb and fell to the ground with a loud _thud_ in the process. Just as the lid came off, a mass of blackness shot out the coffin before it began to reconfigure itself into the shape of a tall human being. The shadow being was dress in a blong black robe, but the young Inquisitor could still see the man's cold and battle-harden face that had black markings along side of his face that covered his yellow eyes.

And there he was...

The creator of the Rule of Two.

The savior of the Sith.

The Sith'ari.

Darth Bane.

In honor of the ancient dark lord, Ren bowed down in respect while Bane only looked down at him with disgust in his eyes. The Inquisitor could feel the dark lord's anger with him, but he remained silent. For now that is.

"So…you are the one called Ren Pines" he said in voiced filled with contempt for the boy "How…underwhelming"

"It is an honor to be your presence, my lord" Ren replied, hiding his anger under his tone

"Spare me your false pleasantries child!" Bane spat as he glowers down at him "Why are you here?"

"I came seeking an ally" Ren answered "and knowledge"

"There are no allies among the Sith, only pawns" the Force ghost coldly corrected "and as for knowledge, why should I give any to you? Your are merely a child who pretends to be a Sith!"

Bane's words stung as bad as the boy's great-uncle's words did during his time as his Padawan, and just like back then with Ford, he wasn't going to let the Dark Lord's words go unchallenged. Ren got back to feet and glared up at the ghost.

"I _am_ a Sith!" he proclaimed with rage "I am an Inquisitor who has studied under the very dark lord who trained current master who now rules the galaxy!"

"And you think that just because you where trained by some old fool who allowed himself to be killed under my law that it makes you important?" Bane asked, slightly amused at the young acolytes boastings "You are truly naïve if you think that"

Ren's fury built inside like a storm as Bane looked down at him with now an expression of cold satisfaction, as if he had managed to gourd the into this situation.

"You do understand that the first and only reality of the Sith is that there can be two" he continued "And it's my guess that you are neither a master nor apprentice, so until you claim either of those positions then you have no business here"

"I have every right to be here!" Ren snapped back furiously "My goal is to tear down your Rule of Two and reinstate a Sith Order!"

A harsh, scornful laugh escaped the Force-ghost's lips when he heard that. Most people would cower before such mockery from one such as Bane, but Ren feared no spirit; no matter who it once was.

"My Order has not only kept the Sith alive but has attained the vengeance we have sought for so long" the Dark Lord said callously "What kind of order could you possible create to replace mine?"

"One of many Sith who share trust among each other and a united hatred of the Jedi" Ren fiercely informed him "One that would keep the galaxy in your grip full generations to come"

"That is the very same line of thinking that the Brotherhood of Darkness had that nearly destroyed the Sith!" Bane scolded "The only path to power is one walked alone! If you were a true Sith as you claim to be then you would already know that!"

The Dark Lord paused as he looked into the sheer fire and ferocity behind the young Inquisitor's eyes. It was in that moment that he could feel power of the dark side radiating within him like a dam about to burst open and release a cold, unrelenting surge of wickedness on to the galaxy; so much like he was back during his time among the living. It was in that moment that Bane truly understood the true meaning behind his word.

"Unless you already know that…" Bane surmised as he smirked sinisterly "You promise you're so-called 'brethren' unity when in reality you want to rule over them as they carry out your will and influence across the galaxy"

Ren couldn't help but smirk under his rebreather when Bane pieced together his true intentions for his knights. For all his talk of unity and trust, in truth, he wanted to keep his acolytes under his thumb and be soldiers under his command while he and Wendy ruled over a new Sith Empire. But even then his apprentice would not be called a true lord of the Sith, for in this new Order there would be only Sith among the legions of dark warriors. And that Sith would be him.

There would be no longer be a Rule of Two, but a Rule of One.

"How would manage to keep your warriors from turning against you?" Bane questioned, now interested

"I've kept my apprentice from turning on me with just my words" Ren explained "Imagine who else I could convert and control with just a few well-placed sentences"

Bane laughed once more, only this time it was more of a hearty cackle. He was clearly impressed by the sheer ruthlessness and cunning the boy displayed; for to deceive the Sith'ari was a great feat in of itself; one that did not go unnoticed.

"I was wrong about you; Ren Pines" Bane said "The dark side courses through your veins like a raging river! I cannot aide you in this quest, but you have my blessing to do what you must to continue the survival of our race!"

"Thank you, my lord" he answered

"Now, kneel…" the Force-Ghost ordered

Ren kneeled once more. Bane looked down at him with a cold gaze of satisfaction at the boy.

"The dark side of the Force is strong with you. Should you overthrow your adversaries, you shall rise to become a mighty Sith" Bane announced "Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth…Cipher"

And there it was. Ren had finally attained that which he had wanted for so long, no longer was he just an Inquisitor of the Empire, but now a true Lord of the Sith.

"Rise…" Bane said, allowing the boy to stand again

Just then, one of the walls in the room began to slide upward into the ceiling itself, showing the newly christened Darth Cipher a secret passageway further into the temple.

"Go now, Lord Cipher" the Sith'ari said as he pointed to the passageway "Your quest is not yet over. There are still more test for you to fulfill"

"And I will pass" Darth Cipher declared

With that, Bane's dark soul vanished into thin away. But just before he could take another step, he heard the Dark Lord's words echo throughout the crypt.

"Remember what I said…" he warned "There are no allies among the Sith, only pawns…"

Cipher didn't need to be told what he meant by that. He was referring to his apprentice, an apprentice who was growing stronger with each passing day; perhaps _too_ strong. While he did truly care for Wendy, he knew he had to keep her powers in check so they wouldn't go beyond his own, for she may be tempted to true and overthrow him before his plans came into being. It was another reason why he sent her away to Dathomir, not only to be kept hidden, but what could she really learn among the den of dead witches that he couldn't teach her himself?

It didn't matter, soon he would find Snoke and wither unite with him or kill him, and by then he would have his knights ready for war on Sidious and lapdog Vader. There was no force in this galaxy—not even his sister—that could stop him now.

* * *

Jabba grimaced at his guest as he stepped into the Hutt's main chamber. He had been kept waiting for six months now and that was much to long for someone like the great crime-lord to left in the winds. However, he understood that his guest was very bust man, and that when he contacted him he was already in the middle of another contract. Besides, he had never failed the Hutt before, so Jabba let it slide this time. In the time spent waiting to hear back from him, he had contacted to other well known and feared bounty hunters to track down the one who had insulted him and stolen his property. But they where having no such luck in hunting down that accused boy, so perhaps if all three united they could bring him the head of Inquisitor who had wronged him so unjustly.

"Sorry for the wait, Jabba" Boba Fett apologized in an unsympathetic tone "But Vader had me running around the galaxy looking for these Rebels calling themselves 'the ghost crew'"

"It matters not Fett, what matters is that you are here now and we get down to business" Jabba replied

"I just wanna know two things" the Mandaloraian informed him "Who am I killing and how much are you paying me?"

"You mean, who are _we_ killing and how much is he paying _us_ " a familiar female voice

Boba clenched his fists in anger when he heard that voice, for it belonged to someone who he thought he could trust. His father always told him not to let his emotions cloud his mind before or during a job—dammit did that woman deserve to be shot in the face after what he did to turned around and sure enough, there _she_ was; and along someone he also despised no less.

"You…" he growled with venom dripping in his words

"Did you miss me, Boba?" Aura asked as she and Cad Bane looked back at him


	9. Stan

Chapter Nine: Stan

* * *

In truth, Mabel wasn't sure if she was ready to meet the man she spent the last six months searching for. It was as if her very being wanted to turn and run and never lay eyes on the Jedi Knight. But she told herself that this all was in honor of her fallen master and great-uncle. She swore that she would become a true Jedi and find a way to rebuild the long lost Order, and if she was to do that, she needed this man's teachings to fulfill that promise.

As Mabel and Pacifica followed Soos through the halls of the mining colony, a part of her was still unsure if they should trust the Transdoshan at all; for all they knew, he may have just said that he knew Stanly to be spared from being cut down by her blade—which she still was unsure if she would have done regardless. However, through feeling his emotions through the Force, the Padawan could sense that Soos's intentions were pure and stayed calm; though she did keep her guard up just to be safe.

Unlike her Force-sensitive friend, Pacifica still didn't trust man-lizard for a second. Despite the pain in her shoulder from the blaster bolt, she kept her hand resting on her now holstered blaster, ready to gun him down the second he tried anything funny. Candi and Greta where still nowhere to be found which meant either they had been arrested by Imperial Forces or they were on a roll at the Sabacc tables and simply figured their boss could handle whatever was the problem by herself until they either won the pot or lost their credits.

Soon enough, the Transdoshan brought the two girls before on of the mining colony's many apartments where he then knocked on the door. The trio waited several seconds for a reply on the other end of the door, but there was only silence that greeted them. Soos knocked again, slightly louder then before this time. This time they got a response; though it wasn't quite exactly the kindness of ones.

"Yeah, who is it?!" a gruff voice demanded "If that's you Vizago, I already told you I'd have your money by next week!"

"It's me Mr. S" Soos answered

"Soos, you take care of those bounty hunters like I told you to?" the man questioned

"Uh…not exactly" Soos replied nervously "It's better if you see for yourself"

The man in the room let out an irritated growl before opening the door. The moment Mabel laid eyes on the man she had been seeking out for so long, she let out a gasp of shock as her eyes widen in surprise. Staring back at her was the face of her great-uncle who looked as equally surprised to see her as well. The copycat was dressed in a white shirt with tan leather vest over it along with a pair of brown trousers and brown shoes. Unlike Ford, the mimic's face was covered in stubble and the smell of alcohol reeked from his breath. His hair was also all white as opposed to her great-uncle's whose hair had some grey to it. Stan also had half his left arm missing; only his shoulder down to his once was remained of the lost appendage.

"A-are you Master Stanly?" Mabel finally forced herself to say

"That depends" he informed her, still as shocked to see her as she was him "Are you…Mabel?"

"Y-yes" the Padawan stammered out

Instead of a smile or a few welcoming words, the old man let out an irritated groan upon hearing the girl's name. Mabel could almost feel her heart sink after seeing that reaction of the man who was supposed to train her to be a true Jedi.

"I knew this day would come…" he groaned in displeasure "Well come on kid, we got a lot to talk about"

Mabel gave a small, sad nod before following Stanly into his apartment. Pacifica also attempted to enter as well, but was stopped in her tracks when Soos stood in her way, blocking the doorway with his massive size.

"Hey what gives?" she demanded

"Don't know you. Don't like you" Stan coldly informed the bounty hunter before looking over to the lizard-man "Make sure she stays put"

"Got it, boss" his servant answered

The former heiress was just about to draw her blaster and gun to this so-called Jedi, but a quick, assuring look from Mabel silently told the other girl that she would be alright. Pacifica let out a frustrated huff in before moving her hand away from her weapon and gave the Padawan a nod back to her, wordlessly telling her that she understood before the door slide shut in front of her friend.

Once inside, the smell of alcohol, dirty cloths and the faint scent of Twi'Lek filled her nostrils, making her cough and gag for a few moments before she had to force herself to tolerate the stench. Stan walked over to a nearby chair while Mabel remained standing, not wanting to have the smell of his filthy room on her clothing. The old Jedi then reached into his vest and pulled out a small flask before opening it and gulping down its contents.

"Why do you look like my master?" Mabel suddenly asked

Stan pulled away from the flask and grimaced at the girl's question, as if she had said something stupid to him.

"I thought it'd be pretty obvious" the drunken Jedi responded gruffly "I'm Ford's twin brother"

Once again, Mabel was hit by another revelation she wasn't prepared for. How could her master—her own great-uncle—keep a secret like this away from her? While a part of her felt a sort of relief that she wasn't the last remaining member of the Pines family, she couldn't but feel disgust that this drunkard was her last living relative.

"I bet your wondering why by brother never told you about me" he continued as he set the flask down on a nearby desk "well simply put: Ford and I never got along. Even when we were both members of the Jedi Order we never saw eye to eye on almost anything. And when Republic became the Empire and the Jedi were destroyed...well, that split us up for good"

"So if that true, then how do you know about me?' his grand-niece questioned

"Ford got in touch with me shortly after he found you and your brother" he began "He asked me to join him on Endor's moon with you, but I refused. So I'm guessing that if you're here then that means he's kicked the bucket"

The young girl felt a pang of anger in the back of her mind upon hearing that comment. How could this man who once called himself a Jedi be so callous toward his twin sibling? Even when her brother fell to the dark side, Mabel still had love for him in heart for the boy he once was, but she never outright hated him like Stan did toward his sibling. Just then, Stan had a sudden realization on who was missing from this little reunion.

"Speaking of your brother, where is he anyway?" he inquired

Mabel's head hung low in shame before answering him, not wanting to relive that dreadful day over again.

"Ren...turned to the dark side" she choked out the words "I…I had to kill him"

"Huh, well that sucks kid" Stanly brushed off

The Padawan's head snapped back up to look at the old man with a vexed look in her eyes. This man may be her only family member left in the whole galaxy, but she'd be dammed if she let him get away with saying something like that.

"That sucks? Is that all you can say?!" she spat in disgust "I just told you I had to kill my own brother—your grand-nephew—and that's all you can say?!"

"Well what else do you want me to say?" Stanly asked, acting as if he did nothing wrong "I barely knew you two, and truth be told I didn't want to. You kids were better off without knowing me"

"Oh that's becoming very clear!" the Padawan shot back "I can't believe I spent six months trying to find you!"

"Well sorry to disappoint you" the old man replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he did "you can leave if you want"

"Oh no, your not getting off that easy!" the Jedi in training sharply informed him "I made a promise to Master Ford that I'd become a Jedi and in order to that I need a teacher. And since I have no one else to go to, it looks I'm stuck with you!"

Stanly let out a condescending chuckle at the girl's rant, hardly even threatened or inspired by her words.

"That's cute kid, real cute" he commented "But the fact of the matter is I that I couldn't help you even if I wanted to. And trust me, I really don't want to"

"What do you mean?" Mabel questioned

"The day I lost my arm was the day my connection to the Force was cut off" the old Jedi explained as he gestured to the stump were half his arm used to be "I can barley levitate a cup these days, let alone teach someone like you anything about it"

That explained why the Padawan couldn't sense him earlier when she tried to sense him through the Force, but at this point, Mabel didn't care about his lost connection. She felt her blood boiling at his cruel words. Anger had no place in a Jedi's life, but right now the young girl was setting aside the code for a short time to let the old fool have a piece of her mind.

"You know in those six months I thought that when I found you, you'd be some great teacher like Ford was" she growled "But your nothing but some useless old drunk who'd rather crawl inside a bottle then help his last remaining family member—"

"Do what? Get killed?" Stan interrupted "Wake up kid! The Jedi are gone and my brother and yours both died because Ford thought he could save something that helped create the Empire!"

Before Mabel could make any argument, her great-uncle continued on.

"Face it, the Empire won and if you keep this up your going to get yourself killed like the rest of your family!" he furthered

Rather then let her anger further cloud her judgment this time around, she took in a deep breath and calmly exhaled before reposing.

"Then I'll die believing in everything they stood for"

Stan paused as he gave her look of interest. After several silent seconds, a low chuckle escaped his lips before becoming a haughty laugh. However, this laugh was not a mocking one, but one of almost joy. Now Mabel was absolutely confused by his actions.

"Well I guess that settles it then" he finally said

"That settles what?" his grand-niece asked, still confused

Stanly reached over to the desk once more, only this time he reach downward to on of the desk's drawers and pulled it open. He then proceeded to pull out to pull out a small box and place it on the desk before opening it, revealing a lightsaber hilt inside of it. The old man picked up the weapon and ignited it, letting a blue blade of energy shoot out of it for a few seconds before deactivating it and placing it in his vest.

"Kid, you may be an idiot, but you're a brave idiot" he said "And your right, I'm not going to let the last member of my family get herself killed"

"So does this mean…?" the young Jedi questioned unsurely

"Yeah, it does" the drunkard sighed in defeat "I'll be your teacher"

Mabel honestly didn't know how to feel just now. On one hand she felt a small tinge of relief that this long trip wasn't all for nothing. But on the other hand, after spending only a short time with the old man, a large part of her really didn't want him has her new master. Then again, it wasn't like she'd be able to find another Jedi in the vastness in of the galaxy. So much to her chagrin, she was forced to stay with Stanly. However, there was still a problem of Stanley's loss with his connection to the Force.

"But wait, you said your connection to the Force was cut" his new student pointed out

"Doesn't mean I still can't teach you what learned before I lost it" he rebottled "Besides, I'm guessing you still need a lot of work on your lightsaber training and it just so happens that I was quite the dualist back in my day and I didn't need the Force to help me with that"

He wasn't entirely wrong about that. While Mabel was adequate with in her Soresu style of fighting, it was evident during her battle with Ren and Gideon that she still had a lot to learn. While Ford was an amazing teacher, he never really spent a lot of time on the twin's lightsaber training; only giving them the basics training in each of their respective styles since he felt that the siblings should be more attuned to the Force then learn to swing a blade. Before he fell to the dark side, Ren would spend hours alone perfecting his Shein style of combat while Mabel herself only stuck to what her great-uncle had taught her.

"I ain't gonna make this easy for you, kid" Stanly mentioned "If you really want become a Jedi, then your gonna have to work for it!"

"I will!" she answered, hiding her disappointment "Thank you, master Stanly"

"Just call me Stan, kid" he told her

"As long as you stop calling me kid" she said

"I make no such promises" her new teacher brushed off

And there they, where an unwanted student for an unready master. Both of them knew that the road ahead of them was going to be difficult for two of them, but if they were to succeed they knew that they would have to depend on one another—assuming of course that they don't try to kill each other during the journey that is.

* * *

"Are you certain of what you saw?" the commander's hologram asked, still not believing the engineer's words

"Absolutely sir" the engineer affirmed "I saw the girl use a lightsaber during the fight"

The commander stroked his chin in thought. Before the Absolution's Hyperdrive malfunctioned, they had given the task to confirm the rumors that a Jedi was hiding on Bespin. But the Jedi in question was supposedly an old man, not a little girl. It was then that the commander had a thought: perhaps the child was the Jedi's student—a Padawan if he remembered the term correctly. If their were two Jedi in Cloud City then it surely complicate matters further and his men were simply not prepared for something like that.

"Thank you for your report, you did the right thing" the commander congratulated, though there wasn't any hint of gratitude in his words

With that, he cut the transmission with the engineer before looking over to his lieutenant, who waited for his orders.

"Have our troops on the ground lock down the colony's spaceport. Not a single ship is to leave or enter Bespin until we find those Jedi" he commanded "Have our troops begin wide-spread sweeps of the every home in that colony"

"But sure, how will be to find them?" the lieutenant pondered "we may not be able to detect their powers"

Again, the commander paused in thought before giving his answer.

"True, but we do know who can" he responded "Give me a direct line to the Inquisitors at once"


End file.
